Broken
by teamjacob0729
Summary: This story is about what happens after Bella and Edward return from their ill-fated honeymoon. Things go a little differently. Bella and Charlie have left for Riverside, California, leaving behind Forks and the supernatural. But will the past stay in the past? Can Bella move on from all that has happened? COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1 UC-Riverside

Breaking Dawn AU

I am Team Jacob with a few soft spots for some of the other wolf boys. Not an Edward lover, but not an Edward hater. I have been reading FF for so long, I'm not sure I can accurately recall canon, so this is my story regardless of the original. I have long wanted to write and just haven't had a story that I thought was original and inspired. So here's my first shot.

This is just for fun, as the original didn't turn out the way I wanted, so I've spent my nose reading FF to see Jacob treated the way he should have been. As the FF author, I take liberty in making factual information fit my story regardless of truth in actual geography. No copyright infringement intended. Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, the lucky lady who hurt my Jacob.

Rated M for language and anything else that might sneak up

This story is about what happens after Bella and Edward return from their ill-fated honeymoon. Things go a little differently. Bella and Charlie have left for Riverside, California, leaving behind Forks and the supernatural. But will the past stay in the past? Can Bella move on from all that has happened?

Chapter 1 Changes

As they pulled into the parking space, Bella sighed looking around her. She could not believe this day had arrived. It was bittersweet, but long overdue. She glanced to the side towards Charlie and wondered how he was feeling about this change in their lives. But they were here now and she didn't want to go back. Forks was her past.

"Ready, kiddo?" Charlie asked as he gathered his bag from the back seat of his new quad cab. With a stiff smile, Bella grabbed her things from her feet and opened the door. Charlie wrapped his arm loosely around her shoulders as they walked together toward their new house in Southern California. It wasn't much but it was close to school and it was theirs.

The movers weren't set to arrive with all of their stuff until tomorrow so all they had with them were small suitcases. Bella wandered around looking at each room, seeing where they'd place the furniture and what they might need to get. She passed through the kitchen, thankful it was spacious and had all of the things she needed. She ran her hands over the counters as she smirked at the upgraded fridge. Charlie had gotten lucky that the bank really wanted to sell. The burst of the housing bubble was still trickling down in Riverside, California and there were still many short sales on the market. Charlie drove a tough bargain and got a great deal on the house, nothing like being a cash buyer.

She softly padded up the stairs and listened to Charlie as he unpacked his few things in his master bathroom. Three bedrooms, two and a half baths. They were really spreading out in California. Bella passed the bedroom that they had deemed the office and stepped into her new bedroom. The room was bubble gum pink, left over from what was clearly a little girl the last inhabitant.

"That's gotta change fast," Bella muttered as she walked into the bathroom that connected her bedroom to the office. Glancing around, she gazed out the window at the view of the neighborhood. The backyard was fenced in and there weren't many trees. The sun was shining in brightly and she breathed in deep-thankful for the beautiful, warm afternoon sun.

Quickly, Bella unloaded her small travel bag into the bathroom drawers and headed down for her box of cleaning supplies. The place needed some freshening after the last owners had vacated.

"What do you think, Bells?" Charlie asked her as she grabbed the handle on her way out the front door.

"Be right back, Dad," she responded. Coming back in, she said, "Well, it does have one heck of a view of the mountains. Gotta love that."

"Do you want to run over to the grocery store and get supplies?" Charlie asked, looking around wondering what he was going to do before the couch and TV arrived, having spent the last few nights in a motel with all of the modern conveniences.

"Sure thing, let me just wipe down the toilets and sinks first," Bella smiled as she walked up the stairs knowing just what Charlie was thinking about.

They headed to Walmart where they could get all of the things they needed for the night and coming week. Freshman orientation was in two weeks and Charlie wanted Bella to have everything his girl needed to start college. They walked in the doors and both stopped briefly stunned at the overwhelming store before them. They certainly weren't in a small town anymore. They each grabbed a cart ready to get started, and maybe as a barrier between themselves and the seemingly endless number of people shopping.

What seemed like hours and thousands of dollars later, they loaded up Charlie's truck with their goods and headed back to the house.

While Bella worked on putting things away and getting dinner prepped for later, Charlie worked on setting up his new lawn chair and iPad. Turned out he could watch TV after all. Charlie's cell rang and he glanced at the screen before answering.

"Hello? Yes, this is Charlie. Oh yeah? Great. What time? Okay, well I'll see you Friday at 10. Thanks a lot," Charlie responded and hung up, sticking the phone in the cup holder while he reached for the absent beer with his other hand. Bella waited patiently for more information and when nothing came, she wandered into the living room where Charlie was sitting.

"Well?" she asked impatiently.

"Well, what? Oh. I have job interview with a security firm on Friday," he answered sheepishly, forgetting she was there waiting for him.

"Good. It'll be nice for you to work while I'm studying or going to class," Bella answered, her head shaking as she headed back into the kitchen. She knew he wasn't used to having her there, but he was going to have to get used to it now. It was just the two of them here in CA. She wanted to be part of his life and knew there were still many secrets between them. Those secrets weren't because she didn't want to tell him, but because they were for his safety. So everything she could share, she did share.

Later as they ate at the counter together, they discussed her schedule for the following week with registration, tours and other college related things. They were both relieved Bella got accepted to UC-Riverside and Bella was looking forward to the creative writing program she'd read so much about. She wasn't great at expressing herself verbally, but she was pretty good at writing stories that seemed to come from nowhere. Charlie was proud of her, and told her whenever he felt she needed the little reminder. He was sporting his new UC gear: T-shirt, hat and keychain. He'd ordered them as soon as she had discussed them moving to CA.

That night as Bella laid on the air mattress staring up at the new ceiling, she thought of her past and how much had changed in the last 4 years. She was still working on her self-esteem, but bit by bit she improved and now she was here going off to college, two years after her high school graduating classmates, but still going.

She closed her eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2 School Begins

Chapter 2 Summer is over, school is in

Bella shrugged her backpack up her shoulder. She smiled to herself as she thought about all of the new supplies Charlie had purchased for her at the campus book store. If it had a school emblem on it, she had it stowed in her bag. She knew that her dad was just excited and maybe he was making up for time she was with Renee and gone as a child. All of those years school shopping he had missed. She wasn't sure if she needed a UC calculator, scissors or paper weight but she was now the proud owner, and she couldn't forget her blue and gold plaid phone case.

Taking a deep cleansing breath, she opened the door to her first college class. It was nothing exciting, just basic college algebra, a freshman requirement. She was early so she could find a seat that suited her-not too close to the front or back, and where she could see the doors to know who was coming in. Yet, she didn't want to be noticed either.

"Howdy! Welcome, choose a seat right up front!" a large blonde man with horn-rimmed glasses called out to her from the podium. "Glad you are early, I could use a hand with these stacks of paperwork. If you could put one at each seat that would be just great."

"Okay," Bella muttered cursing herself for being the first one in this tiny classroom. This was a huge university and her first class had less than 50 seats in it…so much for remaining invisible. She got to work passing out the papers and headed to her seat right up front and looked over the information from her new professor, Dr. Dandy. She stifled the laugh because she was thinking it was "just dandy" that she got to help. On Wednesday, she would not be showing up until 5 minutes before class started so she could get a place in the back.

"Welcome, everyone!" Dr. Dandy announced as the clock showed 9:00, starting right on time. "I will be sending around a seating chart. This will be your new home for the rest of the semester. I like to learn all of my students' names and this way I can remember who you are by where you sit."

"Fabulous," a girl sitting next to Bella breathed. Bella chanced a glance and a small smile her way. At least she wasn't the only one unhappy with this turn of fate. "Hi, I'm Kathryn," she stated, pushing her sleeves up her arms and reaching to shake Bella's hand. Bella looked at her hand as if it were a snake, but swallowed it down and briefly shook her hand.

"Bella," was her short reply. She took out her shiny new notebook and pens ready for the day before her. She had chosen this after all. No need to be anti-social and avoid nice, normal people.

"Hey, Bella, Kathryn. I'm Luke. Nice to meet you, ladies. I hope you know a lot about algebra because math is my worst subject. I'm only here because my mom gave me the ultimate life guilt trip about attending college and how important it is to her, how I'd be the first man in the family to get a college degree, and I'd be a real role model to my younger brothers," he rattled on, not noticing the stunned expressions on the girls' faces.

"Hey, Luke," they both answered his little speech, glancing each other, then turning to face Dr. Dandy.

After class, Kathryn looked over at Bella and asked what time her next class was.

"Not until 11," Bella answered guardedly. Was she ready to make new friends? She wasn't sure, but clearly, her and Kathryn agreed about Luke and his loose lips.

"Would you like to go by that café outside and grab a drink and chat for a bit?" Bella bit her lip a little and smiled. She was in college now, it was time to start acting like it.

"Sure thing," Bella responded and followed Kathryn out the opposite door as Luke.

Kathryn was laughing hysterically as she imitated Luke's little speech about his mom's guilt trip. "He should get over himself, really. There are so many kids that want to go to college and can't. I know I am sure glad to be here. I hope he doesn't annoy me the rest of the semester," Kathryn finished with a chuckle.

"So tell me a little about yourself, Bella," Kathryn prompted as they sat around a small table outside the café, looking toward her and noticing the slight cringe as Bella thought about talking about herself. She knew this would happen, and prepared herself for the answers that held no allusion to the supernatural life she had been a part of for the last few years of her life.

"Well, I live with my dad, Charlie. My parents got divorced when I was little and I lived with my mom most of my life. My junior year of high school, I moved to live with my dad. We just moved here together so I could start college, and I wouldn't have to be in a new place all by myself," Bella puffed out her prepared answer, glancing over at Kathryn hoping she didn't ask for more details she wasn't ready to give. "How about you?"

"I don't have an exciting life story really. I grew up in Anaheim, both of my parents worked for Disney and I lived in the same house all of my life. I have an older brother, Matt, that I get along with and couldn't wait to get out on my own. So I'm living in an apartment, going to college," Kathryn said, looking to Bella as she visibly relaxed. Nice, normal friends. This was what she needed.

Bella glanced at her watch and realized she needed to be heading off to her first writing class. That was the class she didn't want to miss, even if it was just freshman college writing, all about technical writing and research papers. Not really Bella's kind of writing, but it was writing.

She stepped in only 10 minutes early for this class, not wanting another Dr. Dandy debacle. Thankfully, this class was an auditorium and she could easily sink into the shadows. She grabbed a seat and began reading the syllabus displayed on the screen at the front of the room.

After class, she headed back home. She was taking 5 classes this semester because she felt like she was behind already. Freshman college writing, algebra, economics, Spanish and the most dreaded class of all-speech. She was only taking it because it was mandatory. Charlie had laughed and said, "you only have to pass, Bella." Her answer to that had been an unladylike snort, as she imagined herself tripping and knocking herself out on the way to the front of the class.

All of their belongings had arrived, been unpacked, and new furniture purchased. Bella had painted her room a nice 'builder beige' last week and didn't miss the pepto-pink at all. She put her bag on her desk and opened her laptop. Renee would be upset that she hadn't been emailing her over the past week, not since they had arrived and Bella set her computer up. There hadn't been much to tell, so Bella hadn't bothered to email her yet.

Bella walked over to her dresser and changed into her comfortable sweat pants and t-shirt; even if they were holey, she wasn't going anywhere. Charlie had gotten the security job at a warehouse and was at training every day this week. As Bella sat down, she glanced at her email. Her heart stopped, there at the top of the list, above the 10 emails from Renee was an email that stopped her heart.

**From: alice **

**Subject: Bella, we need to talk**

(sorry, I don't want to accidentally use someone's real email)

Her heart climbed in her throat until she felt like she couldn't speak or breathe or turn away. What did she want? She had told her she needed time. Sighing, she hesitantly deleted the email. It hurt, but she could not face them yet. She clicked off a quick email to Renee, letting her mother know that her first day had gone well, and she'd had coffee with a new girl, hoping to appease her mom's worries. Bella closed her laptop and headed downstairs to put something together for dinner and pack away the memory of the email. There was no debate, she would not open that email and bring more worry into her life. Things had happened that could not be changed, and she was living her life going forward without looking back anymore.


	3. Chapter 3 End Semester

So, I'm new here as a writer and my first chapter didn't include my disclaimer (which it did on my computer, so who knows what I did wrong): so here it is:

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, no copyright infringement is intended. I just wanted things to go differently. Most of which have been written by someone else. So this is my own spinoff.

I'm sure my husband rues the day he rented New Moon, because it has all been a Twilight addiction since then. Though, my family is the only one that knows how much time I spend reading fanfiction. It is kind of embarrassing, really. LOL.

Chapter 3 Semester End

Bella had finished her first semester of college. She was going out to celebrate with some of her friends from class, including Kathryn and her brother, Matt. When Kathryn said, "older" brother, Bella assumed a couple of years, not 15 minutes. Kathryn hated being labeled as a twin because then it was always followed by numerous standard twin questions. "Who was born first? Do you guys have your own language? Do you like the same things? Would you marry twins?" It was infuriating.

As Bella pulled up in her little black car, she smiled happily. This was what she had been looking for in her life. Feeling normal, friends, having her parents around, and sometimes she could forget what had happened for a day or so. As Bella walked into the bar, with a large black X on each hand indicating she should not be drinking, she glanced around for the group of people already eating and drinking at the back of the bar.

"Bella!" they cheered at her arrival. Kathryn and Matt stood up to give her a quick hug, as well as Sydney and her boyfriend, Chris. They slid over the huge plate of chicken nachos, the reason they frequented this place, as they all chatted about finals and the grades they hoped to earn, as well as next semester's classes that registration was opening for the following day.

"I will not miss Mr. Becker's speech class. That guy was a serious asshole!" Sydney exclaimed as Bella whole heartedly agreed with her. Chris laughed as he recalled the time Bella had to give a speech about whether or not things should be removed from the Titanic wreck site. They had all heard this story countless times and Bella groaned loudly, hoping it would be forgotten soon. Seriously, it was speech class, not debate. That guy was a jerk and Bella was just glad to not have tripped and fallen on her face, and to have passed with a B-.

As the night wore on, more of Chris' fraternity brothers showed up, and they all continued to laugh and have a good time. Bella and her friends filled the tables at the back of the bar, and were using two of the pool tables. Bella, knowing it was really safer for all involved, sat back on a stool and watched the game. Who would put a stick in her hands and expect to not get poked in the eye? It was easier for her like this, she could be around others, but wasn't expected to be the center of attention.

"So, Bella, how are you tonight?" Adam, Chris' roommate sauntered up beside her, smiling drunkenly.

"I'm fine, Adam. How many shots have you done tonight? 12? 13?" Bella kidded him, knowing that he'd be on the floor passed out if he had more than 4 drinks. He smiled cheesily at her and reached out a hand to tickle her. She jumped back, spilling a little of her soda and gave him a dirty look.

"You know better, Adam. Don't touch me," Bella snapped.

"But, Bellaaaa," he drawled, "you're just so cute and cuddly."

Bella rolled her eyes and glared at Sydney. Seriously, she had to get this guy away from her. He could be fun, but when he was drunk he was a cling on. She did not want to be touched, and her friends knew this.

"ADAM! Come here, dude!" Chris called, saving Bella from another second of that guy.

Bella was relieved, until that bitch Fate struck again. The biggest guy of the group, Greg, smashed into her with his enormous back end, knocking her off the stool.

"My gosh!" Bella griped, getting up off the floor. Wouldn't have been so bad if that were all that had happened, but the big oaf, had tried to help her. He wrapped his arm around her from behind to lift her up and pushed her shirt up under her bra.

All around her was stunned silence. They had seen it. She knew it. Damn it. She was always careful about keeping her body covered, trying hard to avoid that scar on her belly, avoiding eye contact with it in the mirror. It ran from her pelvis to sternum and was bright silver. It could not be missed and she hated knowing they had all seen it. She wanted to forget about that scar and how it got there. She sure as hell did not want people to see it.

"Holy shit, Bella," Adam called out awkwardly, just drunk enough to have a modicum of common sense left in his brain.

"Put me down, dumb shit," Bella screeched, as she fought to get two feet on the ground, snatching her wallet off the counter and racing out the door; Sydney and Kathryn hot on her heels.

"Bella! Wait! Slow down! Don't go!" they called out in a rush. Bella didn't listen; she just held back her tears, taking deep breaths until she could safely drive herself home.

Bella ran up the driveway, into the house and rushed up the stairs to her room; the tears she was holding back finally escaping in a rush.

"Bells?" Charlie called out from his room, having heard the door shut rather loudly. "You have a good time?"

"No!" she called out clearly not able to hide that she was crying.

"What happened? Are you ok? What is it? Talk to me," Charlie pleaded through her bedroom door.

"I'm going to bed. I'll talk to you tomorrow, Dad," Bella replied knowing he wouldn't leave her there crying.

After contemplating it for a few minutes, Charlie softly responded, "ok, but come get me if you change your mind. I love you, Bella. I am still very proud of you."

She sighed wishing she could talk to him, but she just wasn't ready. She resolved to tell him tomorrow about what had happened. It was bound to someday; she just hoped it was a long time from now. Never would have been a better time. She grabbed the tissues and wiped her face off.

Staring toward the window, Bella wondered how it had all come to this. She graduated high school, married the love of her life, broke her best friend's heart, and now she was pretending to be a normal college kid when she was anything but. She clicked on her air purifier, for background noise because she couldn't sleep in the silence of her new neighborhood, rolled over and attempted to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4 Dealing with it

Chapter 4 Dealing with it

Charlie woke up with his heart pounding. Bella was screaming bloody murder in her bedroom.

"Edward! No!" she called out followed by a heart-wrenching sob. "No, Edward! Please no! Help me!"

Charlie ran to her room and held her hand. He knew now not to shake her awake. She had to wake from the dream on her own, or else she would not get back to sleep. He gently brushed his thumb over the back of her hand willing the dream to end quickly, realizing something had happened to cause her dreams of the accident to start again. Charlie still thought it was unusual for her to have such a scar from a car accident, but Carlisle insisted she was fine and the lack of quick medical care on her honeymoon would not affect her.

"Dad," Bella whispered as she finally awoke from the nightmare she had been free of for months. "Sorry, I woke you up. I've been doing good."

"That's what I'm here for, don't you worry about it all," Charlie reassured her as he got up from the chair by her bed. "When are you going to tell me what happened?"

"It wasn't much, I just slipped off the bar stool. Greg tried to help me up, but really he just pushed my shirt up and everyone saw the scar," Bella told him plainly, trying to keep the shudders she felt creeping up. Charlie still thought the scar was from the car accident and there was no way she wanted him to think it was anything else.

"Thanks for coming in, Dad. Really, though, I am fine. I just didn't want other people to see it, ever. It's such an unusual scar, people want to inspect it closer. It feels weird, and I don't really like people that close to me. You know how I am. Ever since the accident, and losing Edward, I'm not ready for people to be that close. Maybe someday, but right now, I want to focus on school and making some friends," Bella explained, yawning.

"Well, kid, let's get back to sleep. It'll be alright, you'll see. Everybody has scars they don't want to share with others, whether you can see them or not," Charlie said before heading off to his room.

Bella turned on her side and let the silent tears fall. Widow, she was a widow. It was hard to believe, though the hardest part was keeping the truth from Charlie. It wasn't like she could go see a therapist and talk about what happened. Her parents thought she had been in a car accident while on her honeymoon. The story was their car slipped on a muddy downhill road and crashed into a tree at the bottom, instantly killing Edward and severely injuring Bella. Bella wiped her tears knowing that wasn't what happened at all.

She didn't really miss Edward, not after what had happened. She sighed rubbing her belly. She would always wonder what would have happened with the baby that was growing in her belly. All that she had left were horrific memories and a scar; the biggest, ugliest scar possible.

Without her control, the flashbacks started. Realizing on her honeymoon that she was late, looking at the box of tampons, and feeling a little nudge. The smile that broke out on her face, the racing of her heart as she knew she had to tell Edward. The smile on Edward's face when she told him what she suspected. Everything had seemed wonderful, perfect. They headed back to Washington early because Edward wanted to make sure she was healthy. Carlisle met them at the airport, whisking them off quickly in his car. Edward and Carlisle were whispering, but Bella wasn't really worried that she couldn't hear. She stared out the window, picturing herself and Edward at their home in Forks when she was 9 months pregnant. It really wasn't what she had planned for her future, but it made her happy. They might have to delay heading to Dartmouth, but with his family, they could manage school and a baby.

Bella started breathing fast. It had seemed like a dream at the point, who knew she was headed for a nightmare. She didn't want to remember it. She wanted it to all go away, to go back in time and do things differently. Bella curled tighter under the covers as she willed the images to go away. They wouldn't, she realized, as the rest came to her.

They had pulled over to a gas station, as Bella looked around. Edward got out and came around to her, smiling lovingly. "Hey," he said quietly. "We're almost there and then Carlisle will be able to check you out." Bella nodded, stretching up to peck Edward on the mouth. She should have noticed then that he didn't kiss her back, but she didn't. She was in her own world, her happy bubble.

Later they had arrived at a house she didn't recognize. "Edward? Where are we? I thought we were headed back to the house so Carlisle could check me out?" she asked.

"Bella, we don't want the wolves to know we're back, so we're here at another house in Washington," Edward responded, bringing up the one person she didn't want to think about right now, knowing how she had crushed his heart at the wedding.

They walked in together to the house and Carlisle led them to what was clearly his office, only a smaller version of the original. He started taking out equipment to check her out. He'd already started jotting notes down, and turning on machines. The fluttering heartbeat could be heard with vampire hearing, but not Bella's ears. Carlisle placed the transducer for the ultrasound on her abdomen and began swirling it around, clicking and concentrating. Bella waited impatiently for information on her little guy, smiling nervously at Edward as he stood staring. Bella knew Carlisle was communicating his thoughts to Edward and was mildly annoyed they weren't telling her anything yet.

"So, what can you see?" Bella asked, looking to Edward for reassurance that she was ok.

Things had seemed fine after that night. They assured her everything was fine but the baby was growing faster than expected. Edward and Carlisle insisted she stay there to keep the wolves from finding out about her pregnancy. There was so much they didn't know about it and they needed to keep her and the baby safe. Of course, Bella complied because she now had someone else to think of and keep alive.

Edward rarely left Bella alone, only leaving to hunt for a while when necessary. None of the other Cullens came to the house, except Carlisle, but Edward assured her this was to keep up appearances in town that they were still on their honeymoon. That was what everyone thought and they didn't want to change that.

About 3 weeks later, Fate, reared her ugly head and there was a knock at the door. More like a pounding, a relentless pounding. Bella wondered how someone had snuck up without Edward knowing. He should have been able to read their thoughts.

"Edward? Who's at the door?" she called out to the house, as the banging continued. Grunting, she pushed herself off the edge of the chair and headed to the window to look down and see who was there.

She gasped. Jacob? What the hell was he doing here? How did he know? How did he find her? She waddled her way down the stairs, grasping the rail carefully.

"Coming!" she called out not wanting him to leave before she got there. She opened the door a crack, and said, "Jacob? What are you doing here?"

"Bella! Thank God. I knew I would find you. I was at the Cullen's house and I knew I could smell you on Carlisle. He said you were still gone. But clearly, you're here, hiding. What the hell?" he ranted at her. "You gonna let me in, or what? Where's Edward anyway? I can't believe he didn't answer the door before I got here just waiting to make me leave."

"Jacob, come on, stop. You know Edward wouldn't do that. He and I are married now, he knows you and I are friends. Of course you can come in," she said, as she stepped back to open the door further, wondering where Edward had gone as she was never left alone.

Jacob stood there, staring at her, not moving at all. It was creepy the way he was so still because it was just not like him. Without a word, he turned and walked out the door, got in his car and left.

Bella stopped the flashbacks there. She could not take anymore. Her heart couldn't hold all of the grief she was to suffer. She got up from her bed and walked over to her dresser. Digging under her socks and underwear, she pulled out the little blue blanket. It was the only thing she had left of her past. Rubbing it against her face to dry her tears, she went back to bed, clutching the scrap as if it could save her.


	5. Chapter 5 The Past Always Comes Back

Chapter 5

Bella woke up the next morning, feeling the pain of the night before. Her heart gave a squeeze and she glanced down at the blanket it in her hands. She gave it a quick brush with her hand and placed it back at the bottom of her drawer. Scrubbing her hands down her face, she headed to the bathroom to shower and start the day.

"Hey," Charlie muttered as he stumbled into the kitchen. He was completely sober these days and most of the time it wasn't a problem. But when the nightmares came, he really wished he could get back to sleep with a nice stiff drink.

Bella flashed him a knowing smile, gave him a quick hug, and kiss to the cheek before placing the box of cereal and bowl in front of him. It was just that kind of morning, no fuss required.

"Hey, Dad. Sorry I woke you up last night. I really am ok. You don't have to worry," she reassured him in between bites of her cereal.

Today they were planning on heading out together to explore the area. Other than Walmart, school, and the closer, smaller grocery store, they hadn't really seen what there was to do in their new town.

Later that night, Bella thought back on the day she had spent with Charlie. It was nice. Out of all this mess she had managed to get herself into, this was one of the best things that came from it. As she lounged on the couch, she slid her eyes from the TV over to Charlie who was engrossed in ESPN. She got lost in her thoughts of that fateful night.

Edward came back and she knew there was no hiding that Jacob had been there. Edward came running in the door, searching her out. She remained still on the couch looking him, wondering where he had been all of this time.

"Where is he?" he bellowed. Looking around frantically, while Bella remained seated and calm on the couch, lovingly caressing her baby bump. She still couldn't believe how big she was. Edward realizing quickly that he was overreacting and the only heartbeat that could be heard was Bella's, calmed down and handed her a small box that had been left on the porch. Bella glanced at it. In his messy scrawl was, "Bella." She opened it, glancing quickly to Edward to gauge his reaction to the unexpected gift.

_Dear Bella,_

_I'm sorry I barged in on you. Congratulations on the new addition. Have a nice life._

_Jacob_

Underneath the note was a small blue and yellow blanket. Bella picked it up and ran her fingers over it, not quite sure how to react. She hadn't told anyone that she suspected it was a boy. It was soft and the only baby thing in the house. Carlisle and Edward wouldn't let her out of the house to get anything for the baby. She figured Alice had that all handled at the Forks house anyway, but she would like to pick a few things for the baby.

Jacob came around after that and visited for a little while each day. Most of the time he was there, Edward would leave saying he wanted to give us privacy to talk. Really they just sat and watched TV together, Bella using him to warm her toes whenever she got cold. She liked teasing him by sticking her cold toes under his warm leg when he was least expecting it.

He'd jump a little and complain about her "popsicle toes," but lean down on her to warm them up, rubbing his warm hands up her calves to share his body heat.

"So, what did Carlisle say yesterday about your due date?" Jacob asked during a commercial break.

"Well, he can't really see through the amniotic sac, but he's guessing about 2 weeks," Bella quietly responded. She couldn't believe Edward was allowing Jacob to be here, but honestly she was relieved. She was getting bored at the house by herself. If the wolves knew about her pregnancy, why couldn't she head back to the house with everyone else?

Just then, Edward and Carlisle walked in. "Jacob, Sam said he needs you to head back," Edward stated calmly, glancing at Bella's toes again underneath Jacob's thigh. He headed to the kitchen and began to make Bella a mug of tea.

"Alright, Bells, I'm gonna kick off. I'll see you tomorrow after I get done patrolling," he told her as he leaned over to give a not so sly sniff and pressed a soft kiss to the crown of her head. "Why don't you put some socks on to keep your popsicle toes warm, would ya?" he grinned as he headed out the door. "Later, Carlisle, Edward," he said and shut the door behind him.

Edward brought Bella her tea and pulled the afghan off the back of the couch. Of course, now it reeked like dog, but it was warm from his back and he placed it atop Bella's bare feet. He talked to her about how she was feeling while she drank the tea. She wasn't really a fan but Edward insisted she needed to relax and that it would help her. She leaned back feeling a bit tired, telling Edward a nap sounded good.

Bella snapped out of her thoughts and looked over to Charlie thankful he was still engrossed in his sports channel. Bella didn't really get the draw but it made Charlie happy so she would sit with him at night while he watched. Some nights, he'd find a movie for them to watch together.

Bella stood and stretched, shaking off the memories. It really irked her that Greg had to expose her like that. She checked her phone and had numerous texts and missed calls from her friends. She would have to face them eventually, but right now, she wasn't ready. The memories were eating at her and she couldn't face the friends she had made to feel normal. What was she supposed to say? "I married my vampire husband at 18, thinking I'd be immortal forever." Yea, right.

"Heading up?" Charlie asked her, as he turned his head only a smidge so as not to miss some important stat. When she didn't respond, he finally turned all the way around and looked at her. "You ok?" he asked curiously.

"Yep," she smiled to say she was, but really because she didn't want to talk about it right now. She was reliving the parts he didn't know about and she wanted to be alone.

Running her hand up the railing, she climbed the steps thinking about that house she knew she would never have to see again. Nothing remained of that house.

She put on her sweats and laid down letting the sadness wash over her. It was too late, she'd remembered too much today already and she had to think about the rest. It was the hardest part of it all.

It turned out that Edward had added a sedative to her tea. She would have never suspected him of such trickery. She trusted him implicitly. That turned out to be a huge mistake.

When Bella woke, the first thing she did, was the same as every day since she had discovered her pregnancy. She ran her hand over her bump. Only the bump was gone. She panicked, trying to sit up.

"No, don't move," came Jacob's voice. Alarmed, she turned looking around for Edward. Why was Jacob here? What the hell was happening? Her heart rate spiked as her panic rose.

"Where's Edward? What's going on?" she rasped, begging Jacob to tell her what was happening. He looked down at his hands, his elbows resting on his knees and looked up to her with tears in his eyes.

"He's gone, Bella," he choked, hating that he had to be the one to deal with this, but not wanting it to be anyone else at the same time.

"Well, where the hell did he go? Where's Carlisle? What has happened? Where's the baby?" The questions were coming fast now and he wasn't giving her answers.

She started to twist, trying to get up from the bed she was propped up in.

"No. Don't. I'll tell you. Please, just don't move," he continued, trying to hold back the tears that kept forming.

With a sigh, he prepared to tell her the story he knew was not going to go over well. This would change their relationship forever and he feared after this, that he would never see her again. But he knew she had to be told the truth, he had always given her that, even when it hurt.


	6. Chapter 6 Jacob's Story

Chapter 6 Jacob's Story

**_character death in this chapter**_

_Twilight still belongs to that lucky gal, Stephenie Meyer._

Bella stepped into the shower, getting ready for the day. As the warm water poured down her, she tried to relax but it just wasn't going to happen. She washed her body, feeling the scar, the place where her little one had lived until it was nearly big enough to be born. She never got the chance to see her baby at all. The only baby item she owned was the little blue and yellow blanket Jacob had given her. She leaned her head against the shower wall as that horrible day came back to her…

Bella listened as Jacob recounted what had happened. She wasn't really sure how long she had been out of it, but she felt groggy and was in a considerable amount of pain.

"I had driven my car all the way back to LaPush when I realized I'd left my cell here. I had to patrol soon, so I ran here. I would have just left it but I was worried something would come up and you would need me. When I walked up to the front door, Edward was walking out with a wad of shirts in his hand. He seemed stunned to see me, so you can imagine how I felt actually surprising the bloodsucker when he usually knows what I'm thinking 5 minutes out," Jacob began the tale.

"'Jacob, what are you doing here? Sam said you were needed to patrol,' he asked me all suspiciously and paranoid. I told him I'd forgotten my phone and I needed to get it before heading out to patrol. I asked what he was doing and how did he not know this already. Bella, he just gave me this glazed over look and started walking away, telling me to hurry up and get my phone and get out of here," Jacob recalled.

"As soon as I walked in the door, I could tell how slow your heartbeat was and I looked around to see what was going on, because it was too slow for just sleeping. Carlisle walked out, seeming surprised to see me as well. He asked if everything was ok and I told him I'd just forgotten my phone and was heading back out. But that's when I looked at him a little closer and Edward's odd behavior clicked. I raced out the back door and followed Edward's scent," Jacob continued while Bella watched with tears beginning to form in her eyes. Jacob took a deep breath chancing a short glance Bella's direction and he had to look down at the floor knowing he had to go on.

"When I finally caught up to the bastard, he'd already been filling a hole. I asked him what the hell he was doing and what was in that bundle he just buried out in the middle of nowhere. He turned around with his eyes black and his lips pulled back, sneering at me that is was none of my 'god damn business' and I was supposed to be back in LaPush patrolling, not here fucking things up," Jacob swallowed hard, knowing the last of it hadn't been told. He was hoping beyond hope she would not hate him forever, that she would understand.

"He came at me, and I cowered back, not believing that Edward was about to kill me while I just stood there unprepared. But out of nowhere, the pack had come having heard Alice's shrill screaming about Edward and Carlisle. Paul leapt in between us, knocking Edward over. A fight started between him and the pack. I'm sorry, Bella. Edward didn't survive, and neither did Embry," he breathed in and stopped gathering his thoughts.

"Jacob, what was in the bundle?" Bella asked him warily, already sensing she was not going to be happy with the answer. He looked up to her, tears streaming down his face. Leaning in, he tried to place his forehead on her arm to comfort her, and himself.

Bella started shrieking at him, "what was in the bundle, Jake? What was in the bundle? Where is my baby boy? Where is my little guy, Jake? Did you take him? Did you kill him?"

Jacob sniffed, reaching for her hand. "NO! Don't touch me!" she jerked her hand back. "Tell me now Jacob."

"I'm sorry, Bells. I want to tell you everything was fine, that the baby is being taken care of in Forks, but I can't. I can't tell you that because it isn't true. Carlisle and Edward had already aborted the baby before I got here. There was nothing I could do to save her," Jacob cried out, trying again for her hand. This time she let him hold it, but she didn't squeeze back. It was too much. She couldn't take it all in.

Pounding on the bathroom door made Bella snap out of her haze. "Bella, are you trying to see how many gallons of hot water it takes to empty the water tank?" Charlie asked with humor in his voice. She could tell there wasn't a lot of hot water left.

"Sorry, Dad," she called out, shutting the water off and grabbing her towel. "Just had to work a kink out of my neck." She dried herself off and unlike usual, gazed at herself in the mirror. It was hard to believe that had been her reality. So much had changed. She missed Jacob, but she had some things she needed to accomplish in her life. She was always living her life for someone else and now she was living for herself. As she got dressed in some jeans and a t-shirt, she heard the doorbell ring. Charlie answered it and Kathryn could be heard downstairs chatting happily with Charlie.

Bella hopped down the stairs and walked over to her friend. She gave her a small "forgive me?" look with her eyebrows raised. Kathryn opened her arms welcoming her friend and telling her without words that she didn't need to know yet.

"It's ok, Bella. We don't have to talk about it. I'm sure one day you'll be ready to share. Want to get lunch with me and Matt?" Kathryn asked her gently.

"Yeah, sure. Let me grab my purse and let Charlie know I'm off," Bella told her as she turned back in the house. Bella took a deep breath and closed her mind to Memory Lane. She had remembered most of the awful time and could get back to the present for now.


	7. Chapter 7 The College Experience

Chapter 7 The College Experience

**Thanks for reading this far. I hope you are enjoying my story so far. I'm headed back to work tomorrow after a too short vacation, so I'm not sure how updates are going to come after this. I'm not going to beg for reviews, but if you like it, leave me some feedback. If you hate it, you're welcome to just hit the back button. LOL. On with the story…**

After that night, Bella immersed herself in the college experience. As much as a girl could when she still lived at home with her father. She and Charlie had gotten into a routine of eating out on Sunday nights. They enjoyed the time together talking about nothing or just watching TV at Charlie's favorite sports pub. Bella was proud of Charlie for staying away from alcohol. It couldn't be easy after all that had happened. But he did it for her and she loved him for it even more.

Bella was asked out on a date to go to Spring Splash. It was a big to-do on campus and everybody got tickets to go. Bella wasn't sure how she felt about an outdoor musical festival but he was cute, and nice, so she felt like she should give it a shot. His name was Colton and he was in her Political Ideologies class. One of the last subjects Bella cared about, but a requirement for her degree program. One of her writing professors encouraged her saying it would give her perspective on the world. That was a huge laugh she had to hold back as she was pretty sure she had a perspective on the world no one around this campus did.

Bella was standing in front of the mirror getting dressed. She was thinking about her date. She had a strict 3 date rule limit because there was no way any guy was going to see that scar and ask questions about it. This was date 4 with Colton and he seemed really excited to go to the festival. She looked down at her shirt and jeans. She made sure to have a tank top on underneath her t-shirt that was extra-long and tucked down into her jeans. Glancing over her makeup, the little that was there-mascara, eye liner, lip gloss, she flipped her waves over her shoulder and headed downstairs.

Colton was already there on the couch with Charlie debating which teams they were going to watch in the upcoming basketball games. Bella rolled her eyes chuckling wondering if Colton liked her or her dad better. When he heard her come down the last step, he stood looking her over and smiling.

Bella blushed after his appraisal and walked over to give him a hug and peck on the lips. "Hey, Colton," she said. "Enjoying the TV?"

"You bet," he answered. "I love hanging here talking basketball with Charlie. Ready to go?"

"Let me just say goodbye to my dad and I'll meet you outside, okay?" she said already turning toward the living room to give Charlie a hug. Colton walked out the front door and Bella turned to Charlie, saying she'd be home late and not to wait up for her.

"Bella, you've broken your 3 date rule with the guy. Is there something I should know?" Charlie asked with a smirk as his eyes danced over her face. He was goading her and they both knew it.

"Dad, I'm graduating in May. I'm going to have to get a job and act like a real grown up soon. I just figured I'd enjoy the last couple months of college and do fun things, including Spring Splash. He is a nice guy," she answered not willing to take the bait.

"Well, don't get too serious. I don't want to be a grandpa anytime soon," he answered having no idea he'd just stabbed his daughter in the heart with his words. "What?" he looked at her. "You aren't pregnant already, are you?"

"No…" she barely breathed the answer out. She gave him a hug and walked out the door knowing this was going to have to be the last date she had with Colton. She didn't want either of them thinking this was serious. Her dad had no idea; he would've been a grandfather almost 4 years ago.

She walked out shutting the door and smiling up at Colton. There was no reason she couldn't have a great time tonight anyhow. She reminded herself she was still a young woman. It wasn't necessary for her to settle down even though she thought so when she was in high school.

They walked into the festival, music pumping, beers in each hand. The line to the beer tent was so long they figured they'd better get their next one now. They made their way to the stage enjoying the music already.

"Thanks for coming out with me, Bella," Colton thanked her looking right at her. He leaned down giving her a lingering kiss but he got smashed into spilling his beer all over. "Thanks a lot, shit head," he snarked turning around, looking at the huge guys behind him. His eyes widened at the sight of them. He stepped back inadvertently and pushed into Bella.

Bella looked around him and froze. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw them standing there, backs to her, laughing and joking around. She knew it was them; there was no doubt in her mind they were Quileute. That arrogant posture, dark hair, bronze skin, they were pack. She just wasn't sure which wolves they were or if she wanted them to see her. They were goofing around laughing and she wasn't sure if they had seen her as she was behind Colton when they showed up. She stuttered, not knowing how to react. She looked over to Colton telling him she needed to head to "Potty Lane." Bella rushed off away from the pack, not looking back over her shoulder.

She found the sinks outside the disgusting port-o-lets. She was not going to take a breather in there, but there was a hose hooked up to some sinks that involved minimal touching. Turning the water on, Bella reached down and cupped her hands to splash a little on her face. She stood, sucking in a breath when she felt heat behind her. Damn. It was him, she knew it.

"Bells," he whispered down on to her head. "What are you doing here?"

Slowly she turned, lifting her eyes up his body one inch at a time. Seeming to take longer than ever, she finally looked at his face. A face she had missed, a face she had loved, a face that reminded her of everything she had lost.

Sucking in a deep breath, "I go to school here, Jacob. What excuse do you have for being here?" She hated to be mean to him, but what was he doing here? She'd told him she was leaving. He knew she and Charlie were gone. Billy and her father had been friends their entire lives. She stepped around him and started to walk away. He reached out, wrapping his hand around her elbow, stopping her from walking away from him. She hated the way her skin reacted to his touch. No one could touch, no one else that is.

"Wait, Bells," he said, pleading with her not to go. She paused but didn't turn around and look at him. She knew making eye contact would render her legs useless. "Look at me, please," he said, reaching around trying to touch her face. She jerked back, pulling her arm from his hand.

"Don't touch her!" Colton yelled as he came running in their direction. He looked up at Jacob, sizing up his ability to protect Bella from the guy grabbing her. "Bella, you ok? Is this guy bothering you?"

"No, I'm not bothering her. She's my best friend, so take off," Jacob said, leaning closer to intimidate the puny guy.

"Jacob, not okay!" Bella scolded, grabbing Colton's hand. "Let's go. I don't think I'm in the mood for a festival anymore." She pulled Colton away, heading directly for the car. Just as she looked up, she groaned. There in front of the car was a line of Quileutes shoulder to shoulder, blocking their way.

"Move it, you shits!" she scolded, attempting to plow through them, but Colton pulled back on her, not willing to go through the large men. They chuckled allowing her through, but growled lowly at Colton as he wisely walked around them.

"Where you going, Bella?" they taunted her as she got in the passenger seat, slamming the door.

"Let's go, Colton, just drive," she urged trying to get them the hell out of this situation before she died of humiliation.

"I..I..cccan't," he stuttered, not moving his eyes from the rear view mirror. She turned around to see what he was looking at. There standing at the back of the car was Jacob, arms crossed over his chest looking like the arrogant asshole he was right now. Bella flung the door open, tripping, _of course_, as she stepped out of the car.

"God damn it, Jacob Black! Move your ass! Right now!" she screamed at him as she headed his way. She lifted her hand as if she was going to slap him, when he grabbed her wrist.

He smiled. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," as he yanked her wrist and pulled her toward him. "Hey, guys, tell him to take off. We'll take her home," Jacob barked to the guys as they crowded the driver side door.

Jacob pulled Bella along by the upper arm and leaned down to her, "stop making a scene Bella unless you want your friend to find out about all of your sparkly and furry friends."

Bella went slack and stumbled along next to Jacob following him through the parking lot. "What's going on, Jake?" she asked looking around frantically trying to figure out what was happening at a music festival in California of all places.

"I'll tell you later. For now, get in the car," Jacob commanded as he opened the door to a black car with dark tinted windows. Bella paused for a minute, looking up at him, debating whether or not she should listen to him. "Bells, please get in the car," he said looking right at her and giving her a gentle nudge toward the seat. Finally, she relented, sitting down in the car. She'd almost made it through all of college without a supernatural being showing up and effing with her life. She leaned back and closed her eyes.


	8. Chapter 8 What next?

Chapter 8

**Well, I was just plain happy at all of the views this has been getting. So I decided to churn out another chapter. It's funny how this story has taken on a life of it's own. megan39 mentioned some things I thought I should clarify, so hope this chapter clears the muddy waters somewhat. Though I don't see my boss being at all happy with me saying I can't work to write fanfiction. LOL!**

**Thanks for reading.**

Jacob sat in the backseat with Bella. Her arms folded across her chest, elbows over her hands. Jacob was huge, filling the other two seats, having to lean over toward her just to fit in the backseat of the car. He looked over her carefully, tracing her outline with his eyes, restraining his own hand so that he didn't reach out and touch her like he wanted to. He wasn't sure yet if she would slap his hand away, so he didn't to avoid any possible rejection. The last time they had been together she told him she wasn't sure if she could ever heal from all that happened.

"Honey, are you ok?" he whispered to her, trying to get her to respond.

"I'm not sure yet. I need to know what's going on," she answered dully, not looking away from the window. She remembered the last time she sat in a car with dark windows and it was not a good memory.

"We're going to the hotel. I'll fill you in when we get there," he answered. Then, because he couldn't stand being this close to her without touching her, he leaned his forearm against her leg and tilted his head back against the seat. He breathed deeply taking in her scent, wishing that guy's scent wasn't brushed over hers.

Jacob chuckled as he remembered how Quil had given a good shove to that guy when he leaned in to kiss Bella. It was a jerk move, but Quil knew how much Jacob still loved Bella and couldn't stand by while she kissed another guy. Jacob was glad he didn't hurt her since the guy could've smashed into Bella instead.

Quil was proud of himself and he glanced back at the two and smiled. He was wondering why Bella was being so quiet. After all, she had promised to come back after she finished college, so what was a couple of months early?

"We're here," Jacob told Bella as he climbed out his side of the car. He walked around the back, meeting her as she climbed out looking around. It was nothing spectacular but thankfully nothing too shady either.

The guys surrounded her as they walked into the lobby and to the elevators. Having them surround her made Bella feel even more nervous than before. It was just 4 of them-Jacob, Quil, Seth and another guy she didn't recognize. Had more young men changed? She thought the Cullen's were gone, so why were they still changing?

They arrived at their floor and Jacob took a key card from his wallet and swiped it, opening the door after it clicked open. Jacob paused, taking a deep breath for unwanted scents and guided Bella in, leaving the others in the hall. Jacob wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her to his chest. He had missed her over the last 4 years and hated that he was here under these circumstances.

"Just rip off the band aid, Jake. I can't take it," she said, just turning in his arms but not pulling away.

"Can we talk about that day outside of Seattle?" he asked.

"You mean the day my baby was ripped from my body while I was drugged, the pack killed my husband and you burnt the house to the ground? That day?" she answered, maybe a tad bit snippy with him. She wasn't mad, but impatient that she didn't know why she was here and why she had so much protection.

Jacob sighed, loosening his hold, and slipping his hand down her arm to her hand. He pulled her toward the arm chair by the window. He sat, tugging her body toward his thigh to sit. Bella perched tightly on his leg, tapping her foot nervously, and nibbling an imaginary piece of skin from her thumb.

"The only ones that knew you were pregnant were Edward and Carlisle," he started. "Does that seem right to you? Do you think anyone else should have figured out what was going on?"

"Who else would know, Jake? I didn't call Charlie until after everything went crazy and we had to set up the whole cover story of the car accident. You didn't tell anyone," she answered.

"Think about it, Bella. One of them should have known exactly what was going on, someone should have _seen_ it," he continued figuring she was going to catch on soon.

"She's emailed every year on the anniversary. I've just deleted them. I couldn't read her emails. Did she know? You said the pack came because they heard her screaming about Edward and Carlisle. I've always been so upset that she didn't see what would happen on the island. That she didn't warn us then. I never really thought about while I was pregnant what she saw. I always thought the family knew and was planning for the baby's arrival," she said to him, not entirely sure where this was going.

Without thinking, Bella leaned back into Jacob's chest, propping her feet on the footrest, and relaxing her body into his heat. She had missed closeness with someone, as she had blocked all personal contact with people. The most personal contact she had was with Charlie, and that was usually a quick hug, not much more.

"Do you think she could have stopped it from happening, Jake?" Bella asked him, turning toward his face so she could read what he was saying and thinking.

"I'm not sure she wanted to. I've thought a lot about it over the years. I think her reacting had more to do with the fight, than what they were going to do," he said.

"So what does that have to do with me now?" Bella asked, pulling her eyebrows together, staring toward the industrial carpet on the floor, finding little stains left behind by previous guests.

"Well, we had a visit from Rosalie and Emmett. They were worried Alice was becoming obsessed with how things went wrong. She's upset she couldn't save Edward and that you aren't with them. The plan was for Edward to change you after he told you that you lost the baby, and obviously that didn't happen. You weren't supposed to find out what really happened. Rosalie and Emmett left the rest of the family after they moved out of Forks. They'd only recently caught up with Carlisle, Esme, Alice and Jasper for a visit. They came to us to warn you. So we came right here."

"Bella, honey, I love you. Please come back to LaPush with Charlie now, so we can keep you safe," he finished, looking at her, while she stared at the floor. He listened to her heart beat fluctuate as he waited on her response. He knew how stubborn she was, but he wanted to give her time to think about what she was going to do.

"What about school, Jake? I'm almost done. I want to earn my degree. I've come this far," she turned to him, breathing out a little unsteady, those unsteady breathes when one begins to cry. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. She turned pressing her face into his neck, letting the tears trickle down. She couldn't believe this was happening. She was supposed to be living a normal life. She came to _sunny California_ for a reason.

Jacob thought for a while before he answered. "You'd have to have one of us with you all of the time. I'm not sure we could pull that off. We don't want her to get you at school. I'll have to talk to the guys, see if they're willing to wait for you. You'd have to accept having a 24/7 bodyguard. We can't patrol here, honey."

He rubbed his hands up and down her body tenderly as she thought it over. She just felt relieved to feel comfortable and safe. She cried for her past, she cried for all that she had lost, she cried for her lost innocence. Bella had to think about what she should do, weigh the benefits to the dangers. They couldn't approach her here. It was too easy to expose themselves, but it was harder to be protected out in the open.

"Ok," she breathed. "You can be my 24/7 bodyguard."

She bounced as he laughed at her. "It wouldn't be just me," he said, kissing her head, rubbing his chin over her hair, casually covering her with his own scent. "Although, I'll be your bodyguard every night," he stated quietly, with a wide smile on his face.

Bella chuckled and lightly slapped his chest for amusement, as it wouldn't actually cause him pain. "Your big body wouldn't fit in my bed, anyway," she jibed back to get a response.

"Oh, I'd find a way to fit with you. We fit in this chair just fine, don't we?" he smiled, while looking down at her still nestled tightly in his lap. He loved every minute of it. He had made her promise she would come back after graduation to see him. She hadn't promised that she would move back, or that she would give him a chance, but she agreed to come see him during the summer before she started her adult life in the real world.

"Tell me what you've been up to," she deflected, changing the subject.

"I finished my classes at Peninsula. So I've got a degree in Green Building. I've been helping fix up houses around the res making them more energy efficient, better insulated, just better all around. We had cut back patrols to overnights since there's been no bloodsucker activity around. I've been preparing for my important chief responsibilities. Learning the language, learning the legends, making ties in the community. Just keeping busy, waiting for the four longest years of my life to end," he told her, as he looked down meaningfully.

"Wow, Jake. I knew you'd make something of yourself. You've always been great with your hands and fixing things. How's Billy doing? He taking care of himself?" she was trying to keep her mind off the news Jake had shared with her.

"He's doing good. Rachel and Paul moved in with him and stay on him to keep healthy and out of the house. Of course, he misses Charlie like crazy. Who else to bring him beer and junk food, you know?" Jacob chuckled, looking toward the wall, while picturing his absent family.

"You moved out?" she asked, trying to picture his room without him living in it.

"Of course, I did! I'm an adult now, alpha, training to be chief. I don't want to live at home anymore. I want to have my own place," he answered. "Besides, it's like I have my own kid since Quil is my roommate." They both laughed at that. There was a thump on the wall behind them. "You know, I love you, man," Jacob called back toward the room next door.

They sat in silence, absorbed in their own thoughts. Bella thought about the past, and her future. Jacob wondering what was going to happen from then on. He felt Bella's phone vibrate in her pocket, but she didn't take it out.

Finally, Jacob looked at the alarm clock sitting on the nightstand next to the king size bed. "We'd better get you back soon. Charlie will be wondering where you are," Jake said hesitantly, not wanting to let her out of his arms since she seemed so comfortable. He was comfortable with her there.

"All right. Let's go," she said, getting up slowly and stretching her arms above her head.

Jacob took advantage of her tank top coming untucked from her jeans in the back, and ran his fingers across her soft skin. Bella jumped a little and turned toward him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and walked toward the door.

They drove back to Bella's house. No one was really talking. They had all prepared for the possibility that she would want to stay. Some of them would have to head back to the res, but Jacob would be staying here until Bella and Charlie came back. Since Paul was second, he'd be in charge running the pack's day to day responsibilities. They'd switch out who was here with Jacob so they could take care of things back at their own homes.

As they pulled into the driveway, the guys froze, not opening the door. Quil turned around and looked at Jacob. "What should we do?" he asked.

Bella's heart raced. Was something happening here? "What?" she asked with panic in her voice, terrified something had happened to Charlie while she was out.

Jacob looked at her, not really wanting to be the one to tell her this. "What time was Charlie expecting you to get home?" he asked.

"I told him not to wait up," Bella blushed because she had been out on a date.

"Well…it seems Charlie thought you'd be out later," Jake smiled at her.


	9. Chapter 9 Some Things Cannot Be Unseen

Chapter 9 Some things cannot be unseen

Rated M and Stephenie still owns Twilight and Jacob and Bella.

Jacob tried to stop Bella as she raced up the sidewalk. He told her she should wait before just rushing in. Bella could not have been thinking clearly or else she would have taken Jake's advice. She threw the front door open, and flipped the switch for the living room. The light flooded the room and then screams could be heard.

"Oh my gosh, Dad! What the hell?" Bella turned running back out the front door. She saw Quil, Seth and Phoenix folded over the hood of the car laughing like crazy. She stopped and rubbed her eyes trying to unsee what her eyes just took in on the living room couch. She was pretty sure she was going to burn it, or cover it with bleach. Something. Ugh. Yuck!

"Bella, sorry, honey. Charlie thought you were going out late tonight. We should have been more careful," placated Ms. Rivera from next door. She hesitantly reached toward Bella and stopped when she saw the glare directed her way.

"Well…I'll see you around then," Ms. Rivera said as she scuttled across the yard to her own house.

"No! Jake, how could you let me walk into that! You know that I will have that image of my father doing tha…that! to her!" she screamed, as she pointed emphatically to the neighbor's house.

Jacob walked up to her, palms held out in surrender. "Bella, I'm sorry. I did try to warn you, but you were thinking it was something else."

"Burn that couch and get my father some Listerine!" Bella finished her rant, as she walked straight up the stairs to her room, shuddering as she walked past her dad.

"Jake? What are you doing here?" Charlie asked, clearing his throat and smoothing his shirt down, avoiding direct eye contact with Jacob.

"I couldn't stand being away from Bella anymore, Charlie. I think I'm going to go check on her. Maybe you should go clean up, brush your teeth or something," Jake grinned at him. "Guys, come on in! The coast is clear!"

Jacob waited for Charlie and his reeking scent to clear the stairway before he headed up to find Bella. When he came to the last door, he heard her shaky breathes as he knocked.

"Bella? Can I come in?" he asked, trying not to laugh at the hilarious event that just unfolded downstairs.

"I guess," she answered. He opened the door to see her sitting at her desk, just staring at the blank screen of her computer.

Jacob walked up behind her and laid his hands on her shoulders. He gently rubbed his hands on her neck and shoulders, feeling her relax incrementally with each pass. She tilted her head down toward the desk and exhaled loudly.

"That was just the icing on the cake of this darn day," Bella simply responded. "Where are the guys?"

"Trying not to sit on the couch downstairs," Jake chuckled.

"Why don't you take a shower and get comfortable, then come downstairs so we can all hang out for a bit? Then, I'll find a way to get Charlie to let me and Seth sleep here while the other two head back to the hotel," Jake told her more seriously this time.

"Okay, but I refuse to sit on that couch ever again," Bella stood gathering her clothes. She turned as Jacob started to walk out and gazed down his body. She enjoyed the view and as she glanced up, she blushed realizing she had been caught checking his body out.

Jacob decided not to push her tonight, so he just grinned and headed down the stairway toward the living room. Charlie was sitting back in his recliner and the other guys were spread out on kitchen chairs and bar stools.

"I don't understand why you guys won't get comfortable and sit on the couch," Charlie grumbled, mostly engrossed on the news playing. He glanced around the room to 4 guys staring intently on the news to avoid all possible eye contact with Charlie.

Jacob cleared his throat, walked over to the couch and perched on the edge. "Charlie, we were wondering if Seth and I could stay tonight. Phoenix and Quil are meeting up with some friends later and we're tired, so we don't really want to go."

"Sure. One of you can sleep on an air mattress upstairs, and the other one can sleep on the couch," Charlie answered.

"I'll sleep upstairs and Seth can take the couch," Jacob quickly responded, utilizing his alpha status in this case to be close to Bella, and to avoid the couch.

Phoenix stood as Bella was coming down the stairs. "It was nice to meet you, Bella," he said to her. "Quil and I are going to take off. Meet up with some friends to try out a couple of California bars and clubs." He winked over at Quil, knowing they were really going to scope around make sure there was no stench of vampire anywhere in the area.

"Nice to meet you too, Phoenix. Quil, good to see you again," Bella said softly, as she glanced shyly at both of them. She was unsure how happy they were about being here and protecting her from vampires again.

Later that night, they all lay quietly in bed staring at the ceiling, different thoughts running each of their heads. Bella had reached into her drawer to grab the baby blanket to hold onto tonight. She would always wonder what her little girl would have been like.

Would she have been more vampire than human as Edward and Carlisle believed? Or would she have been soft, sweet and beautiful? She would never know, thanks to Edward and Carlisle. She sighed and turned over, closed her eyes and fell into a fitful sleep.

The next morning, Charlie had made some excuse about wanting to check out some new place to get out of the house. Bella, Seth and Jacob sat around the kitchen table eating a simple breakfast of cereal, toast and bagels. They didn't really have werewolf sized portions available at the moment. Bella would have to shop later today to keep them fed since she'd be staying around, and they would be staying to watch over her safety. She was kind of sad, as she liked the house her and Charlie were living in.

Bella walked over to a drawer, pulled out a notepad and pen, and sat down and began making a shopping list for the week. Bella was so lost in her thoughts, that she didn't hear the doorbell ring. Jacob got up and answered the door.

"Hi, is Bella home?" a pretty young blonde girl asked, a guy was standing next to her, sizing Jacob up. He had similar blonde hair and blue eyes, like the girl that asked for Bella.

"Kathryn! Matt! What are you guys doing here?" Bella walked up behind Jake, smiling at her friends, and invited them inside.

Seth walked over, and introduced himself to the pair. He offered them leftovers from breakfast, as they eyed the leftover food.

"I'll take a cup of coffee," Matt answered as he walked to the coffee pot, and pulled the carafe out to fill up a mug from the stack beside the machine.

Jacob puffed his chest out a bit, seeing this guy make himself at home in Bella's home. Bella sensed his irritation and went to stand closer to him by the counter, just in case she needed to kick him or something.

"So, who are these guys Bella?" Kathryn asked, smiling at both of them.

"This is Jake and Seth, from where we used to live in Washington," Bella answered. Jacob waiting for recognition, hoping Bella had told her friends about him.

"Well, we heard from Colton that a group of mafia-like men showed up at the festival last night, threatened to beat his ass, snatched you, and told him to 'take off like the little pale face he was,'" Kathryn told Bella, holding nothing back regardless of company.

Bella choked on her juice, not expecting that response from her friend. Jacob reached over and patted her back gently, but leaving his arm loosely wrapped around her. Just as she caught her breath, the front door opened and Phoenix and Quil walked in the door.

"Hey, guys, we're here for breakfast, because the hotel had nothing but cereal and bagels. We expect a full Bella breakfast buffet," Quil stated, looking at the food on the table and his face quickly crumbled.

"Sorry, Quil. I've gotta get to the store before I can open the _buffet_," Bella laughed at Quil and his never ending appetite. "I was working on the list before my friends, Kathryn and Matt showed up."

"Well, we were worried about our friend who was kidnapped by the mafia last night," Kathryn grinned at Bella and glanced toward the newcomers, giving them the full examination appreciatively.

"Mafia? What are you talking about? We are her best friends from Forks. Who would think we are mafia?" Quil asked perplexed.

"Bella's date was unhappy about us meeting up with her at the festival last night," Jacob answered Quil's question, the words 'Bella's date' burning his tongue. He looked directly at Kathryn and said, "clearly, Bella is fine. She wanted to leave that awful festival anyway."

"Hmmm," was the only response he got from her.

"Bells, you about ready to head to the store?" Jacob asked her, standing up fully, stretching over his head.

"Sure. You want to go, Kathryn?" Bella asked.

"No, I think I'll pass. We just wanted to come by to make sure you were okay since you didn't answer my text messages last night," Kathryn stood, gathering her purse. "Matt, just came as back up," she chuckled, thinking he wouldn't have stood a chance against these guys.

"Why don't you guys meet up with us tonight at The Bar?" Kathryn suggested their favorite hangout.

"I'll text you later and let you know for sure," Bella said, not yet willing to commit to taking this crew out.

Kathryn and Matt took off and Jacob and Bella headed to the store.

Bella laid on Jacob's hotel bed, flipping through the channels, while he was in the bathroom showering and getting ready to go out. Bella resolved herself to the fact that she was once again being hunted, but was not going to give up her entire life. She didn't want to be a vampire anymore and wanted the chance to live her life to the fullest, however long or short that ended up being.

Jacob came out of the bathroom, with a cloud of steam. Bella chuckled, but gazed adoringly at him. He looked pretty damn good in his jeans and button up shirt. She was used to his uniform jean cutoffs and bare feet. It was a nice change to see him so dressed up. She climbed across the bed, and stood up. She almost felt underdressed in her jeans and blouse.

"Ready?" she asked him.

"Always," he answered, reaching out for her hand and pulling her out the door.

They met the others outside and decided to all ride in the same car. Jacob drove and insisted Bella sit up front so she wouldn't be squished in the backseat. She grumbled stating it hardly seemed fair that the big guys would be squished instead.

He started the car, and reached over grabbing her hand, rubbing his thumb softly over the back of her hand. They both relaxed from the touch of the other. Bella gave him directions to The Bar and they were on their way.

When they pulled up, Bella got out of the car, feeling like a movie star with her entourage. The people milling around the parking lot stared at the guys and watched them as they headed in to meet with up Bella's friends. They walked to the back and she smiled at Kathryn and Matt, having already sat at their favorite table and ordered a couple of plates of their usual chicken nachos.

They enjoyed the night talking about all kinds of things, like college, stories of Bella, and things that happened around campus. The guys were playing pool and Matt enjoyed discussing sports with them.

Bella noticed Jacob sitting on a stool by the wall and walked over to him. He moved his knees apart and pulled her between them and close to his body. He gently wrapped his arms around her waist, watched the pool games, and listened to the conversations going on around him. He rested his chin on her shoulder, debating whether or not he could get away with kissing her neck.

Bella blushed at the close way Jake was holding her. Her friends didn't really know what kind of friendship they had and she was worried what they were thinking. At the moment, she didn't really care, as she enjoyed the way his hands felt as his fingers traced slow arcs on her stomach from where they rested.

"So, Bella, how long have you and Jake known each other?" Kathryn asked, walking up with a huge grin on her face.

"Since we were babies," Jacob answered for her, smiling at Kathryn. "Our dads have been friends since they were kids."

"Cool. Do you have any brothers or sisters, Jake?" she asked.

"Two sisters. Twins, Rebecca and Rachel," he answered.

"No way! Matt and I are twins, but we don't really advertise it. Get too many dumb questions, like, 'are you identical?'" they laughed together at this.

"Of course, they obviously know nothing about reproduction if they think an egg can split and make a boy and a girl," she finished, smiling widely at him, as he chuckled at one of the standard questions people asked.

"Well, my sisters are identical in looks, but nothing else. They couldn't be more different. My sister, Rachel, lives at home with my dad. She bosses him around so much, he has to beg to get out of the house to get away from her," he answered. "My dad is in a wheelchair, so he's at her mercy sometimes. He misses his pal, Charlie, and can't wait til these guys come back to the Olympic Peninsula."

"Come back? What? No! Bella can't leave here. She's my best friend. We're going to work together one day. Bella, the awesome writer, and me, the awesome editor," Kathryn pouted as her future plans dissolved in front of her.

"Hey, Kathryn, why don't you play a game with us?" Phoenix distracted her from Jacob and Bella.

Jacob nodded, thankfully, toward Phoenix and turned Bella around to face him. He looked down into her beautiful eyes adoringly, and tucked her hair behind her ear. She leaned into his hand without thinking about it. Jacob threw caution to the wind, leaned down and kissed her gently. He kept his eyes open watching her the entire time.


	10. Chapter 10 Pent up Frustration

Chapter 10

Rated M for language and whatever else these characters decide

Twilight and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer

Also, quite sure it's obvious I'm editing my own work. Can always find a bunch of verb tense errors after the fact…so sorry if you're a grammar perfectionist. I usually am, but I've never felt like I wanted to crank a story out like this either.

Thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites. It's exciting, gotta admit.

Bella leaned into Jacob a little, enjoying the feel of his warm lips and hands kneading her sides gently.

"What the hell, Bella? You ditch me last night and now you're here tonight making out with the guy that you didn't seem real happy to see," Colton accused as he turned up directly behind her, flanked by a couple of his friends. "You were all flirty in class with me. Does your boyfriend know what you're really like, huh?"

Jacob stood to his full height and the guys quickly came around him. They knew in a fight with a human, Jacob didn't need back up, but it was just a pack thing. They stood with their alpha, no matter what.

"Watch your mouth, Horton," Jacob replied tersely. "Don't mess with Bella."

"Yeah, the girl doesn't let any of the guys she dates touch her, but she sure as hell doesn't mind your paws all over her. What kind of tramp leads guys on for fun?" Colton continued, clearly not considering how his rash behavior was going to get him into a situation he would not win.

"Skank," one of his buddies muttered from behind Colton.

"Shut your face, asshat," Matt jumped in to defend Bella, standing with Jacob's friends.

Bella felt the need to both apologize and defend herself, "Colton, I'm sorry for what happened last night. It was totally shitty to not let get in touch with you or to leave the festival. But we've only been on a few dates. I never talked about getting serious with you. We've talked in class twice a week, that's all. Jake and I have a long history and we haven't seen each other in years. I didn't know he was going to be there."

"Whatever! I don't fucking care what you have to say. You weren't that much fun anyway. Seriously, who wants to date a girl that won't do more than give you a peck on the lips, anyway? What are we 5 years old? It was no real loss, popsicle," Colton retorted snottily. "Frigid bitch." He turned away from them, and started to walk away.

A large firm hand grasped his shoulder. "I don't think so, dipshit. You're going to apologize to Bella before you get out of here. Then you're never going to speak to her again. Got it?" Jacob said scowling down at the guy that dared to speak to her that way in front of him.

"What? Apologize? I don't fucking think so!" Colton responded, scowling over his shoulder at Jacob. But he couldn't actually go anywhere since the pack had blocked his exit and Jacob held him in place firmly.

"Jake, let him go. He's not worth it," Bella soothed him, running her fingers lightly across his back. She was concerned only with Jake and calming the situation.

"You're right, Bella. Take off, Tiny, and don't come back," Jacob scoffed. The pack parted for the guy to leave and closed the gap quickly so that Bella remained surrounded.

Kathryn stood snickering behind them, while Matt looked a little stunned by it all.

"I think we'd better call it a night, before you start a bar fight, Bella!" Kathryn laughed to her, as she tried to lighten the mood for her friend from the embarrassing situation. They all agreed and headed out together after they split the bill. The pack covering the food since they ate the majority of it.

Jacob and Bella sat up talking that night in the office. Jacob was too large for the air mattress, so he was making do with a pile of blankets and pillows. He'd sleep on cold tile floor if it meant he was sleeping under the same roof as Bella.

"I'm so embarrassed, Jake. I should have called him to let him know I was fine. I can't believe he showed up there and confronted me," Bella stated to the room, not looking at Jacob.

"Consider yourself lucky, Bells. What kind of douchebag shows up like that and makes a scene with a girl he's been on a couple of dates with? It isn't like you promised to marry him or something. But don't worry, I won't let him mess with you anymore. Remember you need a bodyguard in all of your classes now?" Jacob raised his eyebrows, smiled and thought about the next time he saw the little fucker.

Bella groaned realizing the last 2 months of school were not going to be "smooth sailing" like she thought. Thinking about how she was going to have to have a pack member with her at all times. She knew full well that that would be Jacob as much as he possibly could. She nibbled her lower lip as she thought about the kiss Colton had interrupted. She wished Jake would kiss her again. She had enjoyed it.

Around 2 a.m. Jacob started fighting off the yawns, and he noticed Bella was getting quiet in between stories. He pulled her close to his body and cuddled her against him, her head laying on his arm like a pillow. They both closed their eyes and fell into a comfortable sleep.

As Jacob woke in the morning, his muscles sore from sleeping on the hard floor, he kept his eyes closed, not completely awake yet. He was happy to be here, even under the circumstances of another vampire threat to Bella's life and enjoyed being in Bella's house. He started to doze off and dreamt of a life married to her in La Push. He smiled lightly in his sleep, as he dreamed about Bella waking up in his bed every day. Reaching down to adjust his morning wood, he suddenly realized he was curled into Bella's back. There was no way she did not feel that poking her in the ass.

"Oh god," Jacob thought. He didn't say a word, as he stood, grabbed his backpack and went into the bathroom for a cold shower.

As soon as he got into the bathroom, Bella scrambled up and raced into her room with heated cheeks. "Holy crap!" she thought. She could not believe she just woke up to Jake rubbing himself against her ass. She did not know what she was going to say to him about that. However, despite that, it was the best night's sleep she had had in a long time. Quickly, she dressed and headed downstairs to prepare for "_Bella's Breakfast Buffett._"

Jacob followed his nose to the kitchen, where part of his pack sat stuffing their faces with the breakfast spread. Every breakfast meat was on the table along with toast, eggs, and waffles. Jacob poured himself a cup of coffee as he watched Bella flutter around the kitchen taking care of the guys, including Charlie who seemed quite happy with breakfast.

"More waffles, Quil?" Bella asked as she looked at Quil, cheeks stuffed like a chipmunk full of food.

"Yesh," he answered trying to swallow so he could answer her.

They all snorted, as she turned back to the counter to make Quil more waffles and enough for Jacob as well.

Charlie stood and announced he was going to check on Ms. Rivera next door. She had called earlier claiming there was a leak in the upstairs shower.

"Ugh, whatever, Dad! That's just an excuse," Bella said, as she looked at her father. Clearly, she missed the fact that Charlie knew this as well and had every plan of finishing what was started the other night.

Jacob walked up behind Bella as she continued adding batter to the hot waffle iron. He placed his hands on her hips and sniffed her hair, loving that she hadn't showered and smelled of him.

"Sorry about interrupting your sleep this morning, honey. Though, I have to admit it was a pretty great dream," Jacob smiled with glee.

Bella grunted and said, "yeah, I'm sure she was beautiful, Jacob."

Oh, we were back to Jacob, were we? Jacob glanced over his shoulder, and the guys stood and made excuses to leave the room.

"I was dreaming about a very beautiful woman, Bella. I'm not going to apologize," Jacob answered her. He liked jealous Bella. Because "Jealous Bella" meant that Bella cared if he was with a woman other than her. So he decided to tease her a little before he let her off the hook.

"She had this really beautiful, soft hair. Her curves were just right, not too small, not too big. I really liked running my hands all over her body," he emphasized his point by running his hands down her ribcage and hips to her thighs. He had to lean forward to reach her, so he breathed out on her neck. She shivered.

"I'm sure you did," she snapped as she gripped the waffles tightly with the tongs and slapped them on a plate. She dumped some sausage, ham and bacon on his plate, right on top of the waffles. "Here's your breakfast, Jacob. I need to go shower after cooking half a pig for breakfast."

Jacob grabbed her as she started to head out of the kitchen. "Wait, honey, I _was_ dreaming about a beautiful woman. But you have the wrong idea. I was dreaming about **you**. **You** are the beautiful woman." He turned her around and stared into her beautiful eyes. She stared up at him, not feeling like it could be her he was talking about.

He stood directly in front of her, getting close up into her space. He held her hands in his. Pulling her arms around him, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. Jacob looked down at her. He held her against his body, and lifted one hand to her face. Gently, he brought his fingers through her hair, pushing it away from her face. He absolutely adored her. He had never stopped over the years. A lot of times he kept his thoughts locked away from the pack. It was kind of embarrassing for them to tease him about her. He was a total sap.

His fingertips ghosted down her face. Bella leaned her head back enjoying the feeling. He continued his path down her neck, to her collarbone and the top of her chest. He could hear her heart racing. So, ever so slowly, he leaned down and put his ears right next to her ear. He placed the lightest of kisses in front of her ear. Bella's body was going limp in his hands. It was the most amazing feeling.

"Bells, I love you, but you smell like grease," he chuckled as he jumped back from her and grabbed his plate before the food got cold, or she hurt her hand smacking his chest.

"Ugh!" was Bella's brilliant reply as she swiftly marched out of the kitchen and up the stairs.


	11. Chapter 11 Graduation Day

Chapter 11 Graduation Day

Rated M

Stephenie Meyer is the lucky owner of Twilight.

The rest of the semester finished quite quickly. One of the pack was with Bella at all times. Bella was surprised that she got along with most of the young men and for the most part they let her do her thing while they tagged along. They were able to sit with her in her largest classes where no one would notice, but no one could sit in her smaller classes as those professors knew students by name. On those days, they'd hang outside the door nearest to where she sat.

On the day of her graduation, Charlie was seated in the arena with Jacob and Billy. The three of them cheered loudly when Bella crossed the stage. After the ceremony, Bella was gathered with her friends, hugging them and wishing them well. They were all moving into the next stage of their lives. She was glad she got to know them and made such great friends.

Bella was not going to let any thoughts of the Cullens flood her thoughts today. She came to college to get away from those memories and live the life she had dreamed of during her honeymoon-human and a college graduate.

Jacob practically ran to Bella worried she would get lost in the crowd. He hugged her tightly and grinned widely.

"We're so proud of you, Bella!" Charlie smiled, standing aside waiting for Jacob to let go. He saw how close the two had gotten since Jacob arrived and moved into their office. Jacob stepped back and Bella reached over to hug Charlie as tight as she could. She was ecstatic he was here for this. They looked toward Jacob so he could take some pictures to email to Renee. While she and Bella kept in contact by phone and email, Renee couldn't get time off work to make it out to California. Pictures would have to do.

That night, Jacob and Bella were going out with Bella's friends to celebrate and say good-bye. They knew Bella was moving back to Washington to live with Jacob and were saddened she would be leaving. They had promised they would stop in and check on Charlie every now and then since he decided to stay. Things with Ms. Rivera and Charlie were more serious than he had let on before.

Jacob was sitting on the couch, knee bouncing speedily as he waited impatiently for Bella to get ready. She was usually a simple, low maintenance kind of girl and he couldn't figure out what was taking her so long. He walked upstairs to her room to check on her. He found her sitting on the edge of her bed, dressed, staring out the bedroom window.

He cleared his throat lightly as he walked around the bed to look at her face. She didn't give any acknowledgement to him and he glanced down to see the blanket in her fingers.

"Bella?" he asked her softly.

"Oh, hey. Sorry, I guess I just got lost in my thoughts. I was thinking how different my life would have been right now if Edward had not done what he did. I'd be a mom with a preschooler running around. I'm feeling a little sad tonight is all. I'm ready to go, let me put this away," she answered his question, and held the soft blanket to her cheek before tucking it away safely. All of her things were packed. She was leaving her furniture here though. She wouldn't need it at the Black's house.

Bella turned back to Jacob, smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. He stayed seated on her bed and held her. He was saddened by the way things happened for her, but he also felt guilty for the joy he felt that she was not a vampire.

Edward and Carlisle had not handled the situation well at all. They led her to believe everything was fine. She had been excited about the birth of their child and it had not been discussed with her the likelihood of her child not being human or human-like. He didn't know what the baby would have been like, but he knew without a doubt they screwed her up royally with their shitty surprise.

"Let's get going. I don't want to be late," she let go of Jacob, and headed downstairs. He followed her down the stairs, fully appreciating the way her hips swayed and the fancy sparkles she had on the pockets of her jeans. It certainly caught his eye. Now he had to let all the other men around her know that she was not available.

"We're _finally_ heading out, Charlie," Jacob joked as he came down the stairs. He smiled sheepishly at Bella, as she glared toward him.

"Whatever! I am not high maintenance, Jake!" Bella laughed as she grabbed her purse and headed toward Charlie to give him a hug. "I'll text you to let you know when we're on our way home, Dad." Bella blushed remembering the last time she'd come back sooner than expected. Double yuck.

Bella and Jake rode together in his car, while Seth and Brady followed in Seth's car. They drove to the restaurant where they were going to eat before heading to the club where they were meeting the others.

Jacob reached over to hold Bella's hand. "How does it feel to have a degree in Creative Writing? You've done it. You've accomplished your goal," he said not removing his eyes from the road.

"It feels awesome, Jacob. I worked so hard. I mean, some of my classes, I didn't really love. Overall, though, I am so glad I did it. It was worth it. Of course, I do have some regrets about my life. You know that," she said, fidgeting in her seat and twisting her hands together. Bella kept her eyes down on her lap and didn't say anything for a while. "Jake? Can we please not talk about that anymore tonight?" she asked softly.

"Of course, honey. I'm sorry to bring it up. I don't want you to be down tonight on your graduation," he whispered, as he turned slightly to glance at her.

They pulled into the restaurant. The guys had all been dying to eat there. It was one of those Brazilian steakhouses where they walked around with huge skewers of meat. It was pretty expensive but this was the perfect special occasion. Jacob was drooling as soon as they pulled up.

As they walked into the restaurant, the hostess immediately greeted them. Jacob returned her smile and said, "We have a reservation for 4 for Black."

"Right this way, please," she smiled shamelessly at Jacob.

Bella wrapped her hand in Jacob's, and beamed widely at the blonde bombshell. She was beautiful but she looked like a plastic doll with her botoxed face and huge fake boobs.

Jacob enjoyed Bella's handholding so he squeezed her gently, assuring her everything was okay and that the hostess was not his type at all. They ate their dinner without any further excitement. After the last round of meat, Bella sat chuckling at the guys that surrounded her.

Seth rubbed his stomach, as he said, "I seriously cannot eat anymore. That was so good. It was worth the money. Though, Bella, I'm thinking you got ripped off. What'd you eat a bowl of salad and 3 bites of meat?"

They all laughed. "Just because I didn't stuff my face like you, Seth, doesn't mean I starved myself. I'm amazed there's any meat left in this place. The three of you easily ate an entire cow," Bella cracked. They laughed even harder. Really, they could only agree. It was obscene the amount of food that was just consumed.

After paying the bill, they headed to the car to meet at Seville. It was a major scene in Riverside and "the happening place to be." Bella would never choose a place like this, but her friends insisted that for graduation they go somewhere "epic." The Bar was perfect for their regular weekend get-togethers, but very low key.

Seth and Brady met them near the door. They'd had VIP reservations so they met Kathryn and Matt at the table that had been reserved. Other people they knew milled around drinking and talking.

"What do you want to drink, Bella?" Jacob asked her as the waiter was walking over to them.

"Oh, I'm not sure," she debated, looking over at Kathryn to see what she had.

"I have a dirty martini," she laughed, knowing Bella would never choose such a serious drink.

"I think I'll just have glass of white wine," Bella said, figuring this would be the easiest answer.

"Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, or Riesling?" the waiter asked.

"I don't know. Something sweet, and a bottle of water too," Bella answered, embarrassed that she was unsure in such a setting.

Jacob wrapped his arm around her and talked with her friends. He really enjoyed talking sports with Matt and comparing stats. Brady and Seth joined in the conversation with the other guys, while Bella and Kathryn talked quietly at the other side of the table.

"So, Bella…when are you going to admit Jake is your boyfriend? Hmmm…" Kathryn teased with a huge smile on her face.

"Shut up. Seriously, Kathryn," Bella answered turning bright red.

Of course, she and Jake had gotten closer in the last two months. They'd practically spent every waking moment together. Though, the others had been there for her as well. After all that happened, Bella didn't think that she would ever be ready for another relationship.

Yet, lately she had caught herself thinking more and more of Jake and what their friendship really was. He had not pushed her at all since his arrival. Only a few times had he kissed her, but mostly it was hand holding, hugs, nothing much more intimate than before.

Jacob certainly heard the conversation being whispered next to him. He also knew that Bella was not going to answer her honestly with him right there. He pulled her more tightly into his side. Lovingly, he rubbed his cheek on her head as he continued the conversation with the guys about baseball.

Eventually, the effects of alcohol started to alter the mood at the table. Since Jacob and Seth were driving, they limited themselves to soda and water. Bella was laughing loudly and snorted, which was followed by raucous laughter around the table.

"Nice, Bella!" Kathryn laughed, holding her stomach as she continued to crack up. They had moved on to drinking shots and were well on their way to drunk.

"Hey, Bells. Want to dance?" Jacob asked giving her a sexy smile she could not refuse.

"It's your broken foot, Jake!" she laughed as she stood from the table. He grabbed her hand and led her to the dance floor.

"Good thing I heal fast, huh?" he said, as he put his hands on her hips and started moving to the beat. Bella started to sway with him and was amazed that she didn't look like a total dumbass. Nothing like liquid courage to get this girl moving.

Jacob grabbed her hands and pulled them up to his neck, bending his knees some so she could reach. He moved his hands from her hips down onto the top of her ass, his fingers slightly digging into the top of her pockets.

He ran his hands up her sides, just barely touching her, continuing up her arms until his hands met hers on the back of his neck. Squeezing her hands lightly, Jake continued his path of exploration. His left hand reached behind her head and his fingers wrapped in her hair, while his right hand traveled around her back. They danced together sensually. Bella's heart raced loudly to Jacob's ears. He kissed her tenderly on the forehead and they stared into each other's eyes.

When Bella didn't look away, Jake glanced down at her lips and back to her eyes. They were sparkling with happiness and shone with love. He leaned in and kissed her fully. Bella opened her mouth and welcomed his warm tongue. She kissed him deeply, enjoying losing herself with him. Bella knew deep down that Jake would never hurt her the way she had been hurt. He would always treat her with respect and care. It made her love him even more. She let her hands fall from his shoulders, down his chest to his stomach. Her fingers bunched into his shirt, clinging to him, never wanting to let him go.

Finally, they had to stop to catch their breath. Jacob kept moving her body against his relishing the way that her body felt against his.

"Jake," Bella began hesitantly, "I…I."

"You what, honey?" he asked, rubbing his hands up her sides, his fingers splayed to touch as much of her as possible.

"I love you," she finally said. She looked up at him confidently and he knew that she did love him as much as he loved her. He would do anything to protect her for the rest of his life. He would do whatever he could to keep her in his life. This was a moment he never wanted to end.

Their friends joined them after they broke from the heavy make out session and everyone had an awesome time dancing to the music. Brady was an impressive dancer. Bella had no idea that he had those kinds of moves, but wasn't surprised with his strength and agility. Kathryn joined him and they put Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey to shame with their dirty dancing moves. People around them stopped to watch and that made them get even dirtier.

Matt and Brady made a Bella sandwich, dancing with her between them as they all gyrated to the bass. Bella laughed as she moved with more grace than usual, but nothing at all like Kathryn.

Jacob stood back laughing, watching them all have a good time. He was glad they got to celebrate this night together. He saw Bella start to stumble, so he walked back out to her.

"Bella, are you ready to get out of here?" Jacob asked her, pulling her close to him as he kissed by her ear.

He could hear her hurt stutter a bit, so he did it again and lingered there for a moment. He continued to kiss down her face, under her chin to her neck. He placed open mouth kisses there, sucking gently, before he moved on. Bella leaned her head back, panting as he continued to the other side and back in front of her other ear. He sucked her ear lobe lightly before asking her again if she was ready to go.

"Um. Yeah, let's go. Good idea, let's go," she said breathlessly.

Jacob alerted the guys so they could head out together. They had kept her safe here so far and they had no plans of fucking that up on the last night here. Bella reached for Kathryn and they hugged, promising to call each other soon. Then Matt leaned down and hugged Bella.

He whispered into her ear that she better have a really _great _night with Jake and that he would talk to her soon. Then he reached out to shake each of the guys' hands, and wished them a safe drive back to Washington.

As Jake opened the door for Bella to get in the car, she turned and looked at him. "Jake, I had a really great time tonight. Thanks for being here for me," she said, as she reached up on tip toes. She still couldn't reach him, so he helped her out. He leaned down to kiss her and wrapped his hand around her thigh pulling it up. She opened her mouth to deepen the kiss. Jacob pressed her against the car and let her know just how much he loved her kiss. They stayed there for a few minutes by the car kissing obscenely. Jacob barely heard a throat clearing near Seth's car.

"Let's get going, honey," he said, pretty breathless himself.


	12. Chapter 12 Going Home

Chapter 12 Going Home

Rated M

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyers.

I'm kind of running out of steam on this story. My original inspiration was the idea of Bella having a huge scar down her stomach from a forced abortion by Edward, which would later bring Bella and Jacob together. Alice decided to be the bad girl in this story. I liked Alice in the Twilight series, but in a way this was a plot hole to me. How did Alice not see the outcome of the honeymoon?

_Shush! you say? Well on with the story…_

Jacob drove back to Bella's house, his heart full of love. He enjoyed the night out with her friends, though mostly he loved seeing her enjoy life. As he pulled into the driveway, he glanced over to see her head leaning against the window. She let out a soft snore, and he laughed lightly knowing she was done for the night. _So much for heading out earlier than everyone else._

The next morning, they were up as bright and early as one can be with a bitch of a hangover. Bella showered, trying to wake herself up. She leaned her head against the wall, as the warm water ran over her achy body. She chastised herself for the last 3 shots. Really how drunk did one need to be to have fun? She did have fun though. While she enjoyed dancing with the other guys, she really enjoyed her dances with Jake. He was so sexy. The way they moved together was sizzling.

"Bella, we need to get on the road soon," Jacob announced outside the bathroom door.

She grunted in response and shut the shower off. Grabbing her clothes, she closed the door from the bathroom to her bedroom, so Jacob could get his turn in the shower. As she looked around her room, she realized that the guys had already packed all of her things into the cars. Their plan was to load everything she needed into the backseats and trunks of both cars. If some of it didn't fit, she knew which boxes Charlie could ship to La Push. She folded her clothes and put them in the last duffle bag.

They all met downstairs, where Charlie had laid out enough pastries to feed an army. They munched on doughnuts and other sugary treats as they drank coffee and discussed the driving plan with Charlie. It would take them 3 days to drive the 1,200 miles back.

With tears in their eyes, Charlie and Bella gave each other tight hugs. Bella promised to call every day for her "summer vacation," and to let him know as soon as they pulled into Billy's house.

Charlie was still out of the loop on the supernatural things, so they told him Jake and Bella wanted to spend time catching up before Bella decided on her adult job. Jake told Charlie in private that he was hoping he could convince Bella there would be a way for her to write there. She didn't need to live in a big city for the career she wanted.

Of course, what they couldn't say to him was that Alice Cullen had flipped her mind and jumped on the crazy vampire train. It wasn't safe for him to know and he could keep living blissfully ignorant of the truth as far as they were concerned.

As they pulled away, Bella left the window open and waved enthusiastically to Charlie until they turned the corner and he was gone from view. Bella sat back in her seat, and rolled the window up. She sighed and looked over to Jake.

"I'm happy to go back with you. I wish it were on my own terms and not because a vampire was after me again," she said, and then leaned back into the seat to get comfortable. She still felt like complete crap from the night before and planned to sleep for a few hours in the car. Their first stop for the night was Sacramento. Then they planned to stop somewhere in Oregon, before ending in La Push. Jacob promised he felt fine and that she could sleep.

The trip was long and uncomfortable for all of them. The wolves were more than ready to be home to run free and the men were as well. While they all were comfortable enough while they were in California, it wasn't 'your own bed in your own room' kind of comfortable.

Bella kept her promise and called Charlie as soon as they pulled in the driveway. She spoke briefly to him, as not much had happened to report to him. He told her to have a great time and he would see her soon. While he didn't plan to come for the summer, Billy did talk him into coming for at least a long weekend. Charlie said his job owed him some vacation so he'd work it out some time.

Other pack members were standing outside Billy's house as soon as they pulled in. Bella stayed in the car while she called Charlie, but she had watched as they all greeted each other. They shook hands and gave one-armed hugs. Bella looked around at the familiar faces of Seth, Brady, Collin, Jared, Quil, Paul, and Phoenix. She was surprised that she didn't see Sam or Emily there. It made sense that Sam didn't come to California as he was married and Emily was pregnant. Though, she thought for sure they would be here now. Taking a deep breath, she got out of the car.

"Bella!" Quil sauntered over to her and scooped her up, swinging her around. She laughed and asked him how it was going. Each of the guys welcomed her and gave her a quick hug.

Bella looked around noting how much had changed at the house. There was a new roof, fresh paint and inside there was new flooring and more lighting. Jacob had been putting his new degree to use in his father's home.

The guys stayed out in the living room talking and laughing while Bella looked around. She headed to the bathroom and was surprised with another change to the house. The bathroom had been expanded and included a fully accessible shower for Billy. It had everything he needed to be as independent as he could.

Jacob had told her there were changes, but this was beyond what she imagined. Rachel came and greeted her, then offered to show her the expansion at the back of the house where she and Paul lived. They had their own separate living space with a small kitchen and laundry room. It had a covered path, so that they could go between the main house and their area whenever they wanted or needed to.

"Wow. Everything looks great, Rachel," Bella marveled over the changes.

"Yeah, Paul and Jacob worked on it together. Dad said he could not live under the same roof as us for another second," she laughed and Bella joined in. "Dad really can do a lot on his own with all of the new accessible additions to the house. He needs us for some things but he likes the company sometimes too."

Bella chuckled knowing from Jacob how Billy was just fine without their company.

When they walked back into the living room of the main house, only Jacob and Paul were left chatting. Paul was filling him in on the latest with the Cullens. Bella walked over and sat beside Jake on the couch. He reached out and grabbed her hand without missing a beat in the discussion.

"Thanks, Paul, for taking care of things while I was gone. It really means a lot to me," Jacob said sincerely.

"No problem, man. You're family. Pack," he answered as he reached out to pat Jacob's upper arm before turning and leaving the room.

Jacob turned to Bella, "Are you ready to head over to see my house?"

"Definitely," she answered. "It looks great, by the way. I can't believe all of the improvements around here. It's great that Billy is able to be more independent and not always rely on somebody to do stuff for him."

Jacob stood and they walked out to his car. He drove the 5 minutes to his house and pulled his car into the garage.

As they got out of the car, Bella looked around the garage and smiled. While it was new to her, it was completely Jacob. All of his tools were lined up on the wall and there were many more to the collection. She supposed he needed them with working on houses around the reservation.

"Come on, Brady and Seth dropped your stuff off before they headed home," Jacob beckoned her into the house.

Bella absorbed the house as she walked around. It wasn't a brand new house, or a huge house, but it had all been refurbished and looked really nice. It, too, was Jacob. She admired the dark floors and stopped in the kitchen. It wasn't huge but it was a dream. It had a gas stove top, double ovens, a side by side fridge, and a dishwasher.

Jacob walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"What do you think? Will you survive here for a little bit?" he asked, as he ran his cheek against hers and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"I'd be fine as long as I was with you," she replied softly. It was true. She knew they could live in worse conditions and that she was lucky he was here. Really she was pretty simple but she could picture herself cooking a huge "thank you" dinner for the pack for all of the traveling and trouble they went through while she finished college.

"I want to take you somewhere," Jake said to her, pulled her hand and headed out the back door.

They walked down the road together, hand in hand, until they reached a rocky path. Bella gripped Jacob's hand a bit tighter to keep her balance as they walked up a small hill.

When they reached the top, she saw they were at the cemetery. Jacob guided her until they reached the place he wanted to show her. She knelt down as she saw the headstone with Embry's name on it. The tears flooded her eyes as she remembered that fateful day. The pack has lost their friend because of her.

"There's one more thing I want you to see," Jake whispered to her, as he pulled some grass off a tiny marker a few feet away.

It said, "Little One we would never get to know." It had a picture of a swan over the words. Bella sobbed when she saw that Jake had placed a marker for her baby.

"Jake? Is this just a memoriam? Or is she here? I can't believe you did this for me," she continued to cry.

"She's buried here. After I saw Edward with the bundle, I checked the baby out. I couldn't just walk away not knowing for sure if the baby survived. I figured she hadn't by the way he was acting. When I smelled her, she smelled so much like you. Her hair was fuzzy brown all over her head. She would have been a beautiful baby. I couldn't let her be buried off in the woods someplace away from here. I brought her back and had this made-for her," Jacob shared as tears streamed down his own face remembering that day. It had been a secret he kept from her all this time. He wasn't sure how she would feel knowing that her daughter had been buried in La Push. The baby girl had been at least part vampire. Only the pack members knew about it. Most of them understood Jake's desire to do the right thing, only one didn't understand and thought it was against everything for which the wolves stood.

They stayed until the rain came in. They had walked to the cemetery and needed to get back to Jake's house before it started to pour.


	13. Chapter 13 Back in La Push

Chapter 13

Rated M for language for sure

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. It's not my fault the story went all wrong.

(They're coming from the cemetery where Jake just showed Bella the headstones for the baby and Embry. It had just started to rain when they headed back to Jake's house.)

Jake and Bella almost made it back to his house before the rain started coming down in buckets. Just as they walked up the drive, it came down really hard. They ran the last bit and stopped on the porch. They were both drenched and the water was freezing.

"We almost made it!" Jacob said, as he unlocked the door. "Wait here a sec and I'll grab some towels." He walked into the house, leaving Bella dripping outside.

As he came around the corner from the closet, he paused, momentarily in shock. Then he got himself moving again, as he hurried to give an obviously cold Bella the towel.

"What?" she smiled up at him, having noticed that he stopped.

"Nothing," he answered her too quickly.

Bella rubbed the towel over her clothes and headed toward her room to change into dry clothes. As she stepped into the bathroom with her change of clothes, she looked into the mirror.

"Oh! Oh my gosh!" she gasped as she saw her reflection. _Of course_, she would get drenched when wearing a light colored top. There was almost nothing left to the imagination of her chest. Dear Lord. She took a deep breath, got changed into her t-shirt and sweats, and then headed out to the kitchen.

Jacob was standing at the refrigerator with his back to her when she walked in. She was surprised to see that the fridge was stocked. She didn't think they would have any food and would need to head out. It was a pleasant surprise.

"Sorry about that," she said, turning a light shade of pink. Jacob turned around when she spoke. He walked over to her, and gazed down at her. She kept her face turned down slightly.

"Bella," he whispered. While she kept her face down, her eyes peered up at him. "Hey, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm sorry for the way I reacted. It was just surprising, that's all."

He leaned down close to her face and waited for her to lean up and kiss him. Still feeling a bit shy, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face there. Jacob put his forearms under her butt and pulled her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and hugged him tight.

Jacob carried them over to the couch and sat with her in his lap. Neither of them moved for some time. Bella finally felt like her face was getting too hot, and turned to rest her other cheek on Jake's shoulder. He rubbed his hands up and down her back. After a few passes, she pulled her body closer to him. Her legs were bent at the knees, but she pulled her knees in tighter so that she was touching as much of him as possible.

"You ok?" Jake asked to the back of her head. He placed soft kisses down her shoulder and across the arm she had wrapped around the front of his neck to the back of his head. All he heard in response was a sigh. To him this was a sign she enjoyed what he was doing, so he continued.

He didn't have much room to maneuver with her wrapped around him. So he continued rubbing her back, spreading out his fingers and pulling his hands in closer on her rib cage. When she pushed herself further into his lap, he reached around further skirting his hand over the top of her chest. They continued this a little longer.

Finally, Jacob said to her, "Bells, look at me." He waited patiently for her head to lean up and make eye contact with him. He looked at her seriously, trying to figure out what was going through her head.

Bella leaned in and pushed her mouth against his. She kissed him, and without any persuading from Jake, deepened the kiss and pushed her tongue into his mouth. They reveled in the taste of the other. Several days in the car wasn't really a time to make out. When they stopped at night, Jake would be exhausted from the drive. So all they did was curl up and go to sleep.

Yet, Bella wanted to show Jacob how much she appreciated what he had done. He had both melted and broken her heart when she saw the stone for her daughter. Edward had killed their unborn child in cold blood without remorse. She and Jacob were both saddened, and it was an odd twist of fate. Maybe Fate wasn't as big of a bitch Bella thought she was all of this time.

Bella wrapped her hands around Jacob's neck so that her fingers met on his spine, her thumbs right in front of his ears. She looked into his eyes and down to his lips. She placed one soft kiss there before speaking. "I am so thankful to have you in my life. I can't believe what a beautiful, caring heart you have."

Then, she kissed him again without a grain of doubt in her heart or mind. He kissed her back just as fully.

"I love you, honey. I am sorry for what happened. I know that you think it was your fault Embry died, but it's not. That was Edward's fault. He caused the fight that day. He orchestrated the whole thing. Don't blame yourself. I don't," Jacob said before kissing her soundly and lifting her as he stood.

"Let's head to the kitchen and get some food," he finished as he placed Bella back on her feet and walked back to the kitchen.

"I was thinking I'd like to cook a 'thank you' meal for the pack. You know for staying down there while I finished school. I really put everybody out and I want them to know how much I appreciate it," Bella said. "You should invite Sam and Emily too, even though Sam didn't make it to California."

"Sam will not be invited. He is not welcome here," Jacob answered gruffly.

Then he sighed, "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. It's just Sam and I haven't seen eye to eye for a while now. He and I can't be together in the same place. The guys don't care if you do something for them. But I'll tell them if you just tell me when," Jake said, placating her after his surprising response.

"Hmm. How about this weekend? That will give me enough time to settle in, plan a menu," she said.

"Sounds great, Bells," Jake replied. He took a pack of steaks out of the fridge and set it on the counter. He grabbed some potatoes, scrubbed them and poked them before placing them on a plate for the microwave. Bella stood quietly watching Jake as he moved around the kitchen. It was a surprising change from "the old days" when he would stand around watching her.

"Surprised I know my way around my own kitchen?" Jake laughed to her. "I'm a wolf. I've got to keep myself fed or I could literally starve to death. Now that I'm a big boy, I've gotta take care of myself."

"Do I smell steak?" howled Quil as he walked in the back door, staring into the kitchen. He sauntered over to Bella with a huge grin on his face.

"Don't you effing dare, Quil!" she squealed racing around the counter to grab hold of Jacob. Quil was soaked and muddy. She just got clean clothes on a few hours before.

"Quil, go get cleaned up. Then get back in here and mop up your mess. You should've showered out back first," Jacob reprimanded.

Quil whined as he went into a small bathroom to clean himself up. It wasn't long before he came back into the kitchen clean, mop in hand.

"So, Bella, what do you think of our bachelor pad?" Quil asked raising his eyebrows. "Awesome, huh?"

Bella smiled as she realized how living with Quil really must've been like having a large child in the house. She watched as he left half the mud on the floor while he yapped to her. Eventually she couldn't stand it anymore and walked over and took the mop away.

"You actually have to look at where the dirt is to make it go away, you know?" she kidded with him.

"Yeah, whatever. Did you see any dirt on the floor when you got here? It's not like we have a live in maid to clean the place up! Us grown men do all of the cleaning around here!" he responded, appalled.

"Don't believe a word this dumbass says, Bells. Rachel comes over here every 2 weeks to clean the place up. And, I happen to know she came her yesterday because she was worried what the place would look like before I got home," Jacob laughed heartily, leaning against the countertop. He pulled Bella to his chest and snuggled her close.

"Oh, gross. I'm out of here. I'm not going to hang around and watch you guys make goo goo eyes over steak!" Quil rushed out of the kitchen and put the mop away before leaving with a slam of the door.

"Jake, we just figured out how to get Quil to go away!" Bella cheered playfully.

"I know he can be a big goofball sometimes, but I have enjoyed having a good roommate here. It'd be lonely if I stayed here all by myself," Jake said as he got out the broiler pan for the steaks.

Jake and Bella sat down to dinner and talked about the plans for the summer. Bella did not want Jacob to stop working any longer. He needed to get back to normal as much as he could. People in the tribe were relying on him. Jacob told her he couldn't be at work while he was worried about her. So she promised him if she left, she'd take a pack member with her and keep him posted on her plans. They also agreed that she would not leave La Push without him at all. For the most part, she didn't need to go anywhere. She didn't want to get stir crazy stuck in the house.

After cleaning up the kitchen together, they headed to the living room to watch the evening news and whatever the evening lineup of TV programs was. Bella didn't regularly watch any shows and neither did Jacob. He enjoyed sports games and ESPN, while Bella enjoyed HGTV and cooking shows. They settled instead on Once Upon a Time, a show about storybook characters in a messed up world.

Bella lay back on the couch and propped her feet across Jacob's legs. He rubbed his hand slowly on her calves and massaged her feet as they watched TV. Both felt comfortable and relaxed with the other. It was better than being at Charlie's because, well, Charlie wasn't there hovering over them. Jacob watched as Bella drifted off to sleep. He stayed on the couch and continued his slow trails around her legs. When he began nodding off, he reached for the remote. Then he turned, carefully, and set Bella's feet on the couch. He stood and lifted her in his arms. As quietly as only a shifter could, he carried her to her room and set her on the bed. He leaned down and brushed his lips against her forehead and headed to the door.

"Jake?" Bella called out quietly.

"Yeah, Bells," he said, turning back toward her.

"Where are you going?" she asked him tiredly.

"I was going to go sleep in my room."

"How am I supposed to sleep without you next to me now?" she asked, mildly offended he was just going to put her to bed alone like that.

"Aw, honey, I didn't want to assume that now that we were here you wanted me to," he told her timidly.

"Lie down, now," Bella ordered him as much as a girl could half asleep. Jacob didn't hesitate, but stepped around to the other side of the bed and crawled in next to her. They both slept soundly, and neither heard Quil when he came in talking on the phone as loud as possible before going to his own room for the night.


	14. Chapter 14 Dinner is Served

Chapter 14

Bella hustled around the kitchen and checked both ovens. She whirled back and forth like a miniature hurricane. Jacob stayed out of her way, watching her with a smile on his face. He enjoyed the 'woman on a mission.' He'd do whatever she asked him, then back off and wait for more directions. Bella muttered to herself about how this or that needed to be finished.

Finally, she announced she was ready to take a shower so she'd be all ready for everyone to come. Bella walked lightly over to Jacob, and smooched his lips before turning away to head to the bathroom.

"Need some help?" he asked, with a suggestive smile. "You're pretty dirty."

"Ugh! What?" she answered indignantly. "I've been sweating my butt off in here and that's what you're going to say to me? Maybe you aren't hungry!"

"First of all, if I had to, I can still feed myself. I just happen to like your cooking, too. I'm just offering to get you squeaky clean is all," he countered while leering at her chest and lightly squeezing her hips.

"You dog!" she laughed and headed off before closing the door with a loud click. Jacob chuckled and headed out to the backyard to make sure all was in order there. He saw the chairs had been uncovered, and a few tables arranged for food. He went back in and grabbed all of the paper products. He set those up and then headed back in to get himself ready. Even after fiddling around a bit, he'd still be done before Bella.

In the shower, Jacob's mind stayed on Bella. Things had been too quiet lately. After Rosalie and Emmett came to talk to them, they were expecting immediate chaos. But there wasn't any. To be honest, he was hoping it would all just blow over and the vampires would all stay away.

Jacob stepped out of the shower and finished dressing before he went back out to the living room. He clicked on the TV and caught up on the latest scores, while he waited for Bella to come out of her room. They slept in her bed each night, but things hadn't really progressed much beyond kissing. Jake wasn't disappointed as much as he was impatient. He knew that Bella had a lot of issues to face, so he would continue to be patient.

"Jake? Can you come here a second?" Bella called him from her room. He stood and walked in to see what she needed. He paused in the door before he walked up behind her as she stood in front of her dresser mirror. She was wearing a beautiful dark red halter top with crystals on the edge. It tied at the back of her neck and covered her entire chest, yet the sexiest part was her entire back was exposed. His breath caught at her beauty.

"Can you tie this at my neck?" she asked, getting his attention. She was holding the two pieces for him.

Jacob had just been telling himself in the shower how patient he could be-now this! So he walked up behind her, but ghosted his fingers over her bare back. Bella shuddered at the feeling. He continued up her shoulders to her neck. Her arms relaxed a little and the straps she was holding moved away a bit. Jake stepped closer to her as he tickled lightly to the front of her neck. Then ever so slowly his fingers ran down her chest, pushing her shirt down to feel her full breasts.

With her shirt lowered, he cupped her breasts in his hands, circling his thumbs ever so gently around her nipples. Bella leaned her head back onto his chest, making the softest sounds of approval. This spurred him to continue, as she grinded herself into him behind her. He obviously liked this position as well.

Jacob leaned down and kissed her shoulder, nibbling the skin between her neck and upper arm. She rocked back into him as he held her and he pressed against her. He pushed her shirt even lower until it rested just below the waistband of her pants. At this, Bella's arms came up to cover her scar. Her breath hitched in her throat at the first strike of panic. No one had ever gotten an up close view of this scar. Not really even her, as it was a painful reminder of everything that happened to her.

Not saying a word, Jacob continued to kiss her neck and rubbed his hands all over her chest until her hands relaxed away from her center. He knew the silver scar would remain the rest of her life. They couldn't really get rid of it without explaining how it got there.

Bella pushed her shirt the rest of the way past her hips, until it landed at her feet. She lifted her arms up behind her and wrapped them around Jake's neck. She turned her head and he leaned in to kiss her deeply. He kept one arm around her chest as his other reached down between her legs. He pushed himself into her back, and groaned.

Suddenly, he heard a loud cackle in the backyard.

"Ugh! Those bastards. Sorry, honey, the guys are here," he reluctantly let her go. He adjusted himself as he walked out of the room. "I'll be back in just a second."

Bella could hear rowdy hellos in the backyard as she stood in her room. She decided that after that little adventure in the bedroom there was no way she could wear that shirt. She walked over to the closet and chose a black button down sheer blouse. She slipped a black tank on first and then her blouse and headed out into the house.

The deep voices and laughter brought her out to the backyard. Jacob turned as soon as the door shut and beamed in her direction. He walked over to her and kissed her. She turned the slightest shade of pink as everyone turned to stare in her direction.

A chorus of "Hey, Bella!" rang out and Bella walked around to hug her former bodyguard entourage. Jake and Bella headed in the house to pull all of the food out and take it to the backyard for the tables. She had cooked an enormous amount of food for the hungry wolves. Jacob was impressed at the pans of cupcakes, yeast rolls and a number of pots full of pot roast and vegetables. It all smelled amazing and the pack agreed.

They sat around and ate, talking about what all they had been up to for the week. Several of the guys helped Jake out fixing up houses. They had been working on installing a water collection system at the Clearwater's house. They didn't need to worry about saving water for watering the yard, but it could help them have clean water for things like laundry and other chores where no one would be drinking the water. It was called rain harvesting. The system filtered out the water and it was technically clean enough to drink. But Sue refused to drink water that way so she insisted all she would shower and cook with was fresh out of the tap water. They all agreed that they got enough rain where they lived so they might as well start using it to their advantage.

After that project was finished, they planned on fixing up some of the elders' homes by sealing cracks and checking insulation. It was great for Bella to hear how they all wanted to improve their community. Later they talked about patrols and schedules. Since Jake and Bella returned, they had picked up patrols again. Bella expressed how awful she felt that they had to be back to 24 hour patrols again.

"Bella, it's not your fault. Don't feel like that," Seth reassured her as he stood and ruffled her hair like a pup.

"Ugh! Seth, you know I hate it when you do that," she fussed at him, fixing her hair back and giving him a look that said she wasn't really mad.

"Bella, I'd run every night if it meant I got to eat more of this food," Phoenix said while stuffing another roll into his mouth. Then he smiled a big doughy smile before standing and gathering his trash.

All together they worked to clean things up and return the chairs and tables to the storage closet behind the garage.

"Quil and Jared, you guys had better head out. If you smell anything out of the ordinary, do not hesitate to let us know," Jacob spoke to them before heading into the house with Bella.

They were in the kitchen finishing up putting the last few things in the dishwasher. Jacob walked up behind Bella, keeping her pushed up against the counter. He placed his hands on the edge of the countertop on either side of her.

"Thanks for doing that, honey. They really loved your food and we all loved the company," he rested his chin on top of her head. "We're all glad to have you here."

Bella turned around and leaned up on her toes, looking at Jacob's face lovingly. "I'm really glad to be here. I wasn't sure how I'd feel once we got here, but I am glad to be here with you."

Jake bent his knees so that Bella could reach his lips. He rested his hands gently against her as they continued to kiss. Bella opened her mouth and Jacob didn't waste one second before plundering his tongue into her mouth. Their tongues met and slid against each other. They both started to breathe faster and Bella wrapped her arms around Jake's neck. He picked up her left leg and pushed himself into her.

Jacob didn't hesitate when he picked her up and carried her to her bedroom. He laid her in the center of the bed and looked into her eyes. He kneeled on the bed and propped himself up on one elbow. He trailed his knuckles down the side of her face.

"I love you," they whispered at the same time before picking back up where they left off. Jacob leaned up on his knees. He unbuttoned Bella's shirt and spread open the sides with his warm hands, caressing her skin as he trailed his fingers along her delicate skin. He leaned down and placed hot, wet kisses anywhere her skin was exposed. Without removing her tank top, he pulled the neck down and kissed the top of each breast. Gently he squeezed them as he continued to kiss up her neck to her ear. He gently nibbled her lobe and then sucked it into his mouth. She panted, loving everything he was doing to her body.

"Shirt off, Jake," she commanded quietly as Jacob complied quickly before telling her to do the same. She pulled off her tank top and then removed her bra.

Jake placed sweet soft kisses all over her face as he relished in the feeling of her pert nipples rubbing over his chest. Then he kissed down her face, between her breasts and down the center of her stomach, just to the side of her scar. When he reached her belly button, he rubbed his face against her skin. He wished it had been his child that had grown in her belly. When he used to sit with her, he would pretend that was what they would have done if he had married her and they were the ones pregnant.

He was quickly snapped from his thoughts at the sound of a loud howl that was much too close to the house. He leapt from the bed and ran out of the house, instantly shredding his close as he phased to hear, "Incoming!" 


	15. Chapter 15 Every Time

Chapter 15 Every Time

Rated M

Twilight and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

All spelling and grammatical errors belong to me, and I always see them after I post.** Awesome**. ;)

Thanks to everyone that is checking out this story. It's had _a lot_ of readers, IMO. Not as many as some of my fave authors, without a doubt, but a lot for me! I've laughed at others that make comments on these but I see now exactly what they mean. I get so excited.

I just want to recommend a great story to you if you aren't already following Animals by tonyamic10-you should! Or anything else she writes. It's rated M and pretty lemony. If that's not your thing she has some other fabulous stories too.

Anyhow, on with the story.

_Broken Chapter 15_

After Jacob phased in, it was complete chaos. He felt each wolf's emotions and heard every thought. He could see everything they were seeing at once, but it was too much.

"Quiet!" he roared. "One at a time. Paul, you first. What the hell is happening?"

"Bloodsuckers on our land, Jake. We smell at least 4 different scents, but we see only the little one. She's headed for Billy's house," Paul said, while still running full speed in the direction of Billy's house. Of course, he was off the reservation with Rachel when everything went down. He left her with the car and he had raced back through the woods.

"Quil, Jared, one at a time. Who saw something first?" Jake asked running through the woods, trees blurring by. His mind was on his sister and father. His 2nd had sent her back home with the car and his father would be home alone in his wheelchair. He pushed harder, knowing he wasn't far.

"We were running together around the perimeter, when we hit a trail. There were at least 4 different scents. We followed the strongest one and realized quickly it was heading in the direction of your house, Jake," Quil answered seriously as he swiftly ran through the forest coming from the other direction.

"Paul, head to my house with Jared and Phoenix!" was the last order they heard from Jacob.

Jacob reached the tree line of his family's home and phased back, running on two feet into the house. What he saw terrified him. Sitting on the couch was Rachel, beside her Billy and standing in front of them was Alice. She looked, well, there weren't words for how she looked. Disheveled, scary, nuts, psychotic all came to Jacob's mind as he walked into the room. His own sister was so petrified, when she looked at him naked as the day he was born, she didn't even flinch. He saw only the slightest bit of relief in her face.

"I need to know where Bella is. She needs to come live with my family. I need her. Where is she?" Alice asked in a high pitched, frantic voice.

Jacob took a deep, calming breath before he answered. "Why does Bella need to come with you, Alice? Where are the others? Where are Rosalie and Emmett?"

"Oh, who needs Rosalie and Emmett? They've been off on their own for years. They don't care about Bella. **I **am the one that cares about Bella. I cannot live without her anymore. Because of you, Dog, I can no longer see her. I could see her while she was away at college. I know she missed me. She thought about our family. Now she spends every second with you and I CAN'T SEE HER AT ALL!" she screeched.

Billy rolled back from the couch and Rachel pushed her body deeper into the old couch, trying to get away.

"Who else is with you?" Jacob demanded.

"What do you mean? I came alone. No one else is with me," Alice answered, but her eyes jerked just a tad to the side, making Jacob jump back to protect his back. He knew there were no other vamps in the house; he couldn't smell any other sickening scents.

"Bullshit. Don't lie to me. You've already broken the treaty by coming onto our lands. Where is your mate?" Jacob continued questioning her trying to figure out what else was going on. Quil walked in to stand beside Jacob, glaring at the vampire.

"Who's at the house?" Jacob asked, not removing his eyes from the psycho in his dad's living room. He didn't want to indicate whose house she was living at since the fortune teller didn't seem to know.

"Seth, Jared, and Phoenix. She's fine, don't worry," Quil answered. He leaned his head at Billy indicating that he should get out of the room. Then he said to Rachel, "hey, I think Paul's back, can you help your dad get ready for bed?"

Rachel stood, shaking visibly as she followed Billy to his room and locked the bedroom door. Not that the door could stop a determined vampire, but it helped them somewhat.

Quil and Jacob stepped closer to Alice, as she stood, staring blankly at the wall behind them.

Suddenly, Alice wailed an ear piercing cry. "Jasper! Noooo!" she tried to leave the room but was blocked by two shaking werewolves. "Move you, mutts, I've got to save Jasper before your buddies kill him. He hasn't done anything. He just wanted to bring Bella home with us where she belongs!"

Jacob grabbed her by the arms, as she tried to jump around him onto the couch. "I don't think you're going anywhere."

"No! He's not going to die. You're going to die. You reek of Bella. She is my brother's wife! She is meant to be a vampire, not be with you!" she spat at him.

He slammed her body against the wall, and pieces of drywall trickled down her body. She had completely lost it.

"In case you have forgotten, your _brother_ and _father_ decided to give Bella an abortion without her consent! Then Edward decided to attack me! It was going to be me or him. Unfortunately for him, the pack decided it was NOT going to be me!" he shouted back at her. "Then I come to find out my own ALPHA helped him. Edward tricked my leader into thinking I was coming onto Bella and I needed to stay away from her. So I left her! I left her when she needed me!" Spittle flew from Jacob's mouth as he stepped toward her. He was pissed. His whole body was trembling.

"And you know what, Alice," he hissed with as much venom in his voice as possible, "you knew what was going on and you didn't do a thing to stop it! Some best friend you are!"

"That baby might have killed Bella. I could not let that happen to her. She was Edward's soulmate and my best friend for eternity. We were going to have great times together. That baby would have kept her from keeping her promises," Alice said.

"What promises?" Jacob asked.

"That she would stay with us forever. That she would become one of us. After that baby was born, her future disappeared. Disappeared. But, she wasn't dead," Alice answered flippantly.

"If her future disappeared, how do you know she wasn't dead?" Jacob asked, tiring of this whole charade. It seemed her mate was going to be destroyed by his pack, but he trusted Paul implicitly to handle things while he remained human.

Silence fell. Not a single sound could be heard through the house except for the steady hum of the refrigerator. Jacob slid his eyes toward Quil to see his reaction to the silence. Alice hadn't started gazing off again. She was clearly in the present. She didn't want to answer.

He stalked closer to her. His trembling had stopped before, but now was back as he started to connect the dots. He forcefully whispered to her face, only inches away, "how did you know she wouldn't be dead?"

"Because I could see that baby's future," she answered tightly staring into his eyes. "When she got older, she was talking to her friend about her parents-Jacob and Bella."

Jake sucked in a breath and reached out to grab her by the throat. "Don't fucking move or I will squeeze and remove your head from your neck. You'd better explain and make it crystal clear, like I am a 5 year old child."

"I could see her future intermittently. I couldn't see everything. I couldn't see Bella's future after the baby was born. Edward had disappeared as well. I didn't really look too far into his future because I had seen the baby's future. She was about 5 or 6 and was in school. Some of the little girls were playing together on the playground. Another child saw a baby carriage and Bella's daughter said it was her brother. The other kids around her said there was no way that could be her brother because she didn't look anything like him. She told them that Daddy Jake was just as much her daddy as he was her brother's daddy," Alice finished, grasping her hands tightly around Jacob's wrists. This only made him squeeze her neck tighter.

"So, let me get this straight. Bella and Edward's child would have gone to a regular school with regular children? No one would have known she was half vampire? So she left him and we had another kid. This made you mad, and you had Edward and Carlisle kill her baby?"

He breathed out a deep breath. He couldn't believe this crap. His life was a damn soap opera!

"Bella does not live here as you can now see. You should not have come here. You have violated the treaty by coming here. We're going outside to find out what the hell is going on," Jacob told her as he dragged her by the throat outside. "Quil, phase outside."

Quil went out into the backyard and phased. In his mind, he could see that the other 3 vampires had gotten close to Jake's house. They were disposed of and Seth and Phoenix were consoling Bella. Quil talked with Paul, telling him Rachel was ok, and so was Billy. He told him the rest was a long story and wasn't important at the moment. He glanced toward Jacob and Alice so Paul could see the situation was now outside. Paul told Quil that Seth and Phoenix were going to stay, but he and Jared were headed back.

Quil phased out and filled him in.

All that was left to decide was what to do with Alice. She had come with the intent of taking Bella whether she wanted to go or not. The pack had killed her mate and 2 other vampires that no one had seen before. The other 2 did not have the same golden eyes as the Cullen's.

Alice started making a horrific sobbing sound a few minutes later. "Oh my gosh, no! I don't want to die! Please don't kill me!" She was panicking and her body started thrashing around. Quil stepped up to help Jake and a few minutes later, Paul and Jared walked into the yard.

Just as Jake was about to step away to put some shorts on, she reached out and grabbed his junk-hard. He doubled over in pain, but not before removing her hand from the rest of her body. He was attempting to scream in pain, but he couldn't even catch his breath. He walked away and busted the hand off piece by piece until he squashed body parts were freed.

The other guys ripped her apart amongst the freakiest screams, echoing off the trees. It didn't take long for there to be complete silence.

Jacob lay on the ground, curled onto his side for a few minutes, taking deep breaths. Paul walked up to him and kneeled down beside him. "Hey man, you gonna be okay?"

"Yeah," was all Jacob whispered back to him.

"Quil, help me get him up and we'll get him back to his house to check on Bella," Paul called out. "Jared, run over to Jake's house and let them know we're on our way. When we get there you guys can head out on patrol to make sure there are no more surprises."

"Come on, Jake. Let's get you up," Paul said as he and Quil helped him to his feet. He groaned as he stood, but as least he was standing.

"That little bitch! That hurt like crazy!" Jacob barely got out. They walked around the front of the house and helped Jake get into the front seat of Paul's truck. Quil hopped in the bed as Paul drove slowly back to Jake's house. It would've hurt even worse to go over the bumps of the road quickly.

"Did you destroy the other 3?" Jacob asked as he came back into himself.

"Yeah," Paul said. "I can't believe they brought red eyed vamps here with them. Did she not see that we would kill them all?" Paul wasn't really seeking an answer, but stating his thoughts aloud.

As they pulled up, Jacob ordered them to leave. They didn't have much choice but to follow the command. The others had left for patrol as soon as they pulled into the driveway.

When Jacob got to the front door, he heard a gasp. Bella was standing in the doorway watching him. He stopped and stared into her eyes from the front yard. Her hands flew to her mouth, covering the pained sound she was making. Slowly, he stepped toward the front door never removing his eyes from hers. As he reached the door, he towered over her and she had to lean her head up to keep the eye contact.

"Jake, oh my gosh! Are you okay? You're…you're," she stammered before finishing, "you're naked."

The stress and adrenaline had not yet left his body. He wasn't fully Jacob in this moment but part wolf and part alpha. He leaned down and kissed her fully. His hands rubbing everywhere they could reach to assure him she was not injured. She kissed him back with just as much desire. His hands cradled the back of her head as her entire body seemed to go limp from the kiss.

There was no way to hide his desire for her at this point. He gently pushed her body into the house and closed the door with the back of his foot. Jacob leaned down to scoop Bella's body into his arms. He carried her to his bedroom and laid her down on the king size bed.

"Jake, tell me what happened. Please. Are you ok?" Bella pleaded with him. But he had been so worried about her being taken while he protected his father and sister, he couldn't bring himself to be fully human in this moment. So he growled and kept kissing her. He removed her sweatpants and t-shirt. She was left only in her panties. She lay there staring at the man before her. They both sucked in a deep breath as he kissed her entire body.

"I love you so much, Bells. I'm sorry. I was just so scared. My wolf is going nuts right now to think that a vampire was that close to you. I'm having a hard time," he confessed while he continued to rub his scent all over her. "I want you to smell like pack, not like that disgusting rotten flesh smell."

"Jake," she soothed. "They didn't get near me. Your pack stopped them. I wasn't even sure what was going on until I heard screaming and arguing in the backyard. They were yelling to the wolves that I belonged with the Cullen's and they couldn't protect me. But, I knew you could. I knew you would."

She rubbed her hands through his hair as he rested his face in her neck. He continued to kiss, nip and suckle her there.

"I'm okay. I promise, I'm okay," she repeated to him as they held each other.

Finally, Jacob relaxed his body some and covered her with his. He still held himself up just enough to keep from crushing her under his weight.

"I can't live without you," he said as sobs began to wrack his body. She felt his warm tears trickle down her neck.

Having this man cry on her was more than she could handle. Her own tears welled up in her eyes as she continued to caress Jake and assure him she couldn't live without him either. They both cried themselves to sleep, never leaving each other's arms.

* * *

><p>I would love if you clicked that follow or favorite button!<p>

Thanks for reading. TJ


	16. Chapter 16 The Truth Hurts Like a Bitch

Chapter 16 The Truth Hurts Like a Bitch

Rated M

Twilight and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I make no monetary gain from this story. I just get to explore and see what else could've happened.

Follows, favorites and reviews are appreciated. However, I'm pretty dang happy with how many views and visitors have stopped by.

Getting to the end, friend. Got another story in the works though.

In the morning, they both lay there in the time when one is coming awake and aware of what's around them, but one refuses to open their eyes. Jake noticed he was on his side and Bella had her face buried in his chest. He pulled his arm down and rested his elbow on her hip, with his palm splayed on her back.

"Morning," Bella murmured.

"Back at ya," Jake whispered to her.

"Ready to talk?" Bella asked him, knowing they needed to talk about what happened last night, but not exactly wanting to do it first thing. "Or would you rather we had breakfast first?"

"I'm not ready to talk yet," he answered as he nuzzled into her hair. He ran his hand up her back and tangled his fingers into her hair. He pulled his fingers out and pushed her hair back away from her face. He gazed down into her eyes and placed soft, barely there kisses on her forehead, her cheeks, her nose and her eyelids. "I just want to lay here and enjoy this peace with you. I'm upset about last night and I know we need to talk. But right now is the first time I've felt you were safe, from the supernatural anyhow," he chuckled, "in years. So for this morning, I only want to hang out and enjoy the peace."

"Okay, but we are going to talk," she said as she leaned in and planted a kiss on his heart. She continued to place kisses on his chest, neck and shoulders.

Jacob laid back and folded his arms behind his head. Bella snuggled up next to him and continued showing Jacob love. He groaned and then pulled her body up on his chest. He pulled her hair to one side and softly trailed his fingers all over her skin.

When she leaned up to kiss him, he traced the sides of her ribs and his thumbs ran lightly over her breasts. She groaned at his touch and he opened his mouth welcoming more of her. His hands wrapped around each of her breasts as he held her and caressed her.

Jacob sat up, just a little, sliding Bella down his stomach to his lap. There was no doubt how Jake felt about this position. It was hard to miss.

Bella was inflamed. The warmth all around her from Jacob was making her want him desperately. She showed him by pushing herself onto him. They had gone to bed as they were and the only thing separating them at the moment was Bella's tiny pair of underpants.

In a rush, Jacob flipped them over on the bed and began to thrust across her mound, showing her what it was he really desired. His kissing became almost frantic, as he sucked her tongue into his mouth, ran his tongue against hers, and finally sucked her lower lip before releasing it and placing a kiss to her lips.

He looked deep into her beautiful brown eyes, seeing each speckle he'd come to know as uniquely hers. She returned the steady gaze as she leaned up to capture his lips again. There was no mistaking their mutual desire.

Jacob glanced at her before leaning back to his knees. She whimpered softly at the loss and looked to him without moving. He put her knees together to one side and rubbed his hands up and down her legs. Finally, he hooked his fingers into her panties and pulled them down her legs. He tossed them to the side and looked up to Bella's eyes.

She bent her knee to open herself to him. He took in a deep breath to get more oxygen to his brain. Leaning forward, he placed a kiss on her thigh and moved higher with each kiss. He kissed her just above her pubic bone and followed her scar up to her breastbone.

Then he placed his hand between her legs and realized that she was already soaked for him.

"Do you want me?" he asked her, just loud enough for her to hear him.

"Always," was her answer.

He pushed into her and held himself there for a minute to steady himself. He had to control his brain before this experience was over in 10 seconds. Jacob had waited his whole life for this moment and he wanted it to be memorable for a good reason. Bella became impatient and squirmed below him, giving him a sign to start something.

He kissed her forehead and started a slow rhythm. She wrapped her legs around his body as he pumped into her. Jacob spoke sweet nothings to her about his love and adoration for her and her body, how long he had loved her and was so happy to have her in his life. He hoped that she would stay with him as long as they both lived.

Eventually they picked up the pace and Bella was calling out Jake's name. He was surprised at how vocal she was being, but he showed her how much he appreciated it by pleasing her. Afterward they both lay sated.

Jacob was the first to speak. "Bells, are you on any kind of birth control?"

"No, Jake. Carlisle said he didn't know if I'd ever be able to have children. I didn't really stick around to ask him questions. But my stomach was sliced open with fangs and venom. I don't really see how it could have healed for me to have another baby. I'm sorry. I know that you would make a great dad one day. I'm keeping you from that," she said sadly.

"No, honey. You aren't keeping me from anything. We'll find a way when we're ready. Whenever the time comes, we'll be great parents together," he reassured her.

"Why don't we get a shower and start this day?" he suggested.

After showering together and getting dressed, they headed to the kitchen for a late breakfast. Jacob worked on waffles while Bella handled sausage and fruit. One by one pack members trickled into the house and they continued to cook for them. No one really said much, they just ate their food and sipped drinks.

Finally, after Jacob and Bella had finished eating and the others were milling around the kitchen leaning against the counters and backs of chairs, Jake spoke.

"Now that everybody is here, I want to talk about last night. I'm sure Quil filled you in on some things, but I want to make it all clear. Afterwards, I want you guys to leave and Quil is going to need a place to stay for a couple of nights."

"I've already told Bella I thought it was suspicious that Alice did not 'see' what was going to be the outcome of the honeymoon. But it turns out once they came back, Alice did see some things she didn't mention to anyone. Since Edward was with Bella most of the time in the house outside of Seattle, he wasn't privy to picking her visions. It's the only thing that makes sense in all of this.

"Edward and Carlisle insisted they did not know what the baby was going to be. They thought for sure it was going to be a monster, an uncontrollable vampire baby. What Alice knew was quite different. It turns out the baby was mostly human. In fact, it was human enough that Bella would have left Edward to live out her life as a human. This made Alice very unhappy. Her words were along the line that Bella had promised to be her best friend for eternity."

"Edward had sought out Sam the day before it all happened. He gave Sam this whole story about how I was coming onto Bella, talking to her about running off with the baby and living our lives away from everyone. He told him that I was thinking of snatching her and not telling anyone where we were going. The thing that hurt the most was that Sam believed him and stepped up my patrols. Just as I was heading back to get my phone from their house, Sam was telling me I couldn't go back there ever again. He said I was ruining Bella's marriage by being there."

Collective gasps were heard around the room. They knew something had gone down that made Jake take over as alpha so suddenly. But his thoughts were locked down tighter than Fort Knox. If he didn't want you in, it wasn't happening. They knew things were strained with their estranged pack member. Since then, Sam hadn't phased anymore. They figured it had something to do with being stripped of the alpha position.

Jacob glanced around at the shocked faces around him. He made eye contact with every person in the room, except for Bella. Lastly, he looked to her and wasn't surprised at the emotions he saw there. Shock, sadness, anger. He was sure she could see the regret in his eyes that he had to tell her this.

Phoenix summarized the tale for everyone with a look of incredulity on his face, "so Alice didn't pass this important information on to Edward. Even though she knew what he would end up doing? She let him continue to wonder what the baby would be? Well, what would have happened to Edward if he found out before the baby was born what Alice saw? Would he have let Bella and the baby go peacefully?"

Quil answered the last question, "She didn't really say. She said after the baby was born Edward disappeared from her sight. She made no other comment about what would have happened to him. We just guessed."

"Seems like the pixie was going to get the shit end of the stick no matter what," Paul commented to no one in particular.

They all looked to Bella, who was now staring at the floor. Her hands and entire body were still except for her breathing. They could all hear, with their supernatural hearing, her shaky breaths-a sign that she was fighting back tears.

One by one, they walked over to her and placed a kiss on the back of her head. No one spoke. What was there to say that could sound even close to the right thing in this moment? There wasn't much. After that, they filed out the door, except for Quil who headed to his bedroom. They could hear him shuffling around and shutting dresser drawers, getting a bag packed for the next few days.

When Jacob heard the front door quietly click shut, he squatted down in front of Bella. "Bells? Babe?" When she didn't respond, he simply picked her up and held her to his chest. He walked to the couch and sat with her in his lap. She turned and started sobbing into the crook of his neck.

A million thoughts ran through her head and she couldn't slow them down long enough to speak. There were too many emotions to choose one, but the overriding emotion at the moment was anger. Bella was angry. She was angry at Edward for ever getting to know her in the first place. She was angry at Alice for pretending to care about her at all. She was furious with Sam for his part in everything. She was pissed at Carlisle for breaking her trust in him. She even went so far to be mad at her mother for being so flaky that she felt compelled to move to Forks in the first place.

As Jacob continued to hold her close and assure her safety with his warm body, she calmed down and just felt sad. Sad that her life had turned this way. She lost her chance at motherhood, she felt more jaded than ever about marriage, she lost everything.

But then she realized she hadn't. She still had Charlie and Renee in her life. Every one of Jake's pack had welcomed her back into their circle with open arms. She had Jacob and his friendship and love. Sometimes she simply needed to step back and reevaluate the situation. She took a deep steeling breath and sat up. She looked into Jacob's uncertain eyes and leaned forward to kiss him solidly.

"I love you," she whispered.

They continued to show each other for the next few days just how much they loved each other. The pack stayed away from the house and Paul ran everything allowing Jacob and Bella their privacy.


	17. Chapter 17 Epilogue

Chapter 17

Thanks for trying out my first story. I can already see some things that were errors, but I am just stunned that I wrote a 30+K word story!

Rated M

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

"Daddy! I'm ready!" the cutest little voice could be heard calling from upstairs.

"On my way, buddy!" Jacob called as he raced up the staircase.

When he walked into his son's room, he watched as Bella lay on his bed with him. He smiled and settled in for this evening's bedtime story. This was something he never missed if he could help it. He curled up in the bed with them, and snuggled his son's head, enjoying the clean scent.

As Bella began to read, Jacob let his mind wander. It had been almost 4 years since the pack had destroyed the vampires. He and Bella had stayed locked up in the house for a few days before they were ready to rejoin the rest of the world.

Charlie came for a long weekend as promised, bringing his girlfriend from California. It still grossed both Bella and Jacob out when they thought about the couches in that house and what they stumbled into that night.

While he was there, they decided to have a civil union and a private tribal ceremony. Neither of them felt they needed to announce to the world their marriage and anyone that knew them understood their reasons. The rest of Forks and La Push believed Edward had died in the car accident on their honeymoon. So it was a reasonable amount of time for Bella to get remarried and begin living a life with Jacob in La Push. Although, neither of them really cared what the town gossips thought.

Bella had found freelance writing jobs that kept her busy, but also allowed her to have a flexible schedule to take care of their son, Caleb. Her friend Kathryn had come and was living with Phoenix. They still got to see each other and Kathryn was in on "the secret." She took it all in stride and her only response was it wasn't natural that so many good looking guys lived in one place.

The setup worked well for all of them, especially with Jacob's construction business. They had expanded his company to build both new Green houses and improve older houses. They had already upgraded all of the Elders' homes. They worked in the surrounding areas and were doing well. There were a lot of older homes that people were improving and they built a reputation for doing quality work.

Jacob continued to learn the 'old ways' from the Elders and his father taught him all of the things he would need to know as Chief of the tribe one day. Billy laughed and said simply because he was in a wheelchair and a grandfather didn't classify him as old.

Jacob's thoughts drifted back just as Bella was finishing up the story. He stood and helped Bella climb off the bed. Then they both leaned down to give hugs and kisses, and tuck their son in for the night.

"Love you, Caleb" they whispered.

"Love you, Momma and Daddy," he said back.

They walked out of the room, closing the door most of the way and walked down the hall together. They stepped into the bedroom next door and Jacob flipped the lamp on. The little pink lamp illuminated the room. Bella walked over to the crib and straightened a few things and sat in the glider. There was a circle ottoman that Jacob sat down on and looked around the room before looking at Bella.

"What were you thinking about so deeply during that story? I know you weren't listening," she laughed lightly. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, honey. Everything is more than okay. I was just reflecting on everything. I can't believe how amazing our life has turned out. I love you guys so much and I am so excited about bringing home our daughter tomorrow. I worry about you, of course."

"Jake, I know we weren't able to have our own kids. I'll always be sad that choice was taken from me. But Caleb is our son, even if he isn't biologically. Plus, both of the kids are Quileute. We have adopted kids that would have grown up with teenage mothers and instead will have a steady family life. Their mothers will get to see that they have grown into healthy young people. They won't worry about what happened to them. I am happy. I love you so much. Come here," she said.

Jacob scooched off the stool and kneeled in front of his wife. He laid his head in her lap and she caressed his hair lovingly.

"Come on, let's head to bed," he said as he stood, pulling her hand. She turned the lamp off before following him out of the room.

They went to bed and enjoyed their last night without a newborn baby in the house. After they brought Caleb home, Bella was exhausted for weeks. He was a difficult baby, always fussing and insisting on being held. Not that Bella ever wanted to put him down in the first place. It just made it hard to feel "in the mood" when you hadn't had a shower or brushed your hair that day.

Jacob loved Bella for hours that night. He figured since they were going to be going without sleep anyway, it was a good enough reason to stay up all night making love to his wife.

The next morning, Sam and Emily showed up to watch Caleb with their daughter. While things were much better, his and Jacob's relationship would never be the same. Raven and Caleb were the best of friends despite their age difference. Jacob would joke with Caleb that "age was just a number."

They hugged their son and then stepped out of the door with their new pink infant carrier.

"See you guys soon with Jessie!" they called as Jake closed the door.

Later that night, Jacob stood in the doorway to Jessie's room and watched Bella. She was in the glider with a bottle feeding Jessie. So far she was the perfect baby. She smelled wonderful, and was soft and snuggly. Jacob loved them all tremendously. He thought he would be broken the rest of his life without her the day she left with the vampire for her honeymoon. Things continued to feel broken while she was away at college and then with another vampire set on ending her life. But he realized that they had fixed each other and would continue to do so for the rest of their lives.

Thanks all!


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